Catastrophic Incidents
by Widkama
Summary: Three years after the Dark War Clary and Jace are about to get married, but Jace waits until they are both standing at the altar to say he doesn't want to get married. What happens when Clary runs off without allowing Jace to explain? Sizzy ship for sure. Possible ClaryxMagnus. There will also be a couple OCs lime/citrusy
1. The Incident

**A/N: This is my second fanfiction. I don't know yet where this story is taking me but we can be sure that there will be drama and suspense. **  
**Disclaimer: I do not own the TMI characters just this plot line. **

"Clary! Clary stop!" Jace's voice boomed through the institute's halls. He was trying to get an angry Clary to stop her path to the front doors, "Clary would you just stop and give me a moment to talk?"

Clary spun on her heels and walked up to Jace. She jabbed a finger into his chest, "You have talk quite enough," she hissed, "I don't want to hear any more of what you have to say." She started to turn around to leave when Jace grabbed her wrist.

He was trying to keep her from leaving but he was also trying not to hurt her. "Clary, I didn't mean I never wanted to get married, I just think this is all moving too fast." Jace felt Clary's palm connect with his cheek.

"You had to wait until we were standing at the altar to have this revelation?" She seethed. She was wearing a golden rune covered gown. Her hair, which had been pinned delicately on top of her head, was now falling in her face. Her mascara was smudged and her lipstick entirely gone.

She remembered being so happy that morning getting ready with Izzy, talking about how she and Jace were planning on going back to Italy and revisiting the sites with the _real _Jace. She and Izzy giggled at all the lacy items she had packed to take with her on the trip. Everything seemed so perfect for once.

Well, obviously she was wrong. Tears started to burn her throat. She tried to stop them but the flowed out over the curves of her cheeks. Jace moved to wipe them away but she moved her head, dodging his attempt. She could see that her action hurt him, but she didn't care. In fact part of her wanted him to hurt; wanted him to feel a fraction of the pain she was feeling right now. It was one thing to be left at the altar, you see that kind of story all the time, but she just had her soon-to-be husband tell her he didn't want to marry her in front of all of her family and friends.

More tears streamed down her face. Refusing to let Jace have his way she jerked out of his grip knowing he wouldn't hold too tight. She did her best to wipe her face dry and turned to leave. She retrieved her steel from her garter and drew a mendelin rune on her forearm so no mundane on the street would see her. She felt Jace watching her but he didn't say a word. When she was finished she started back to the door.

"Clary," Jace called out weakly.

She could hear a sense of defeated tone in his voice. When she turned to meet his gaze she could swear she saw tears in his eyes. She heard a voice in the back of her head yelling at her to stay and listen, but the majority of her was too hurt, too mad. She turned back and opened the door and without even a last glance she left.

* * *

Jace watched the door shut behind the only girl he had ever loved. He stood still a moment, it seemed like an eternity, hoping she'd come back, hoping it was all a terrible nightmare. He could no longer stand. He fell to his knees but kept his eyes trained on the door. 'Come back' he thought 'please come back. I love you.'

He faintly was aware of people surrounding him, and of the hands lifting him to his feet and guiding him to a bench. There were questions being asked, but he could make out the words. He didn't see any of the faces that kept popping in his line of vision. All he saw was Clary, and the hurt he had caused her.

* * *

Clary was in the park now, where she and Jace used to train. She sat on the grass, her back against a rock, and her knees pulled too her chest. She was now thankful she picked a comfortable dress or otherwise this would be hard to do. Then again, who thinks about comfortable ways to sit on the ground in a park when you pick out your wedding dress? She started to cry again. She didn't mean to end up in the park, but she didn't know where else to go. Home was currently her mom's house, and she didn't want to go there. She knew her mom would mean well, but she did not want to be fussed over. Simon currently lived at the institute, and there was no way she would go back there.

She had just kept walking until she found herself here, in the park, where she had thousands of memories that included Jace. She wiped her face knowing it was useless because it would just get saturated with tears again.

The sun was almost completely set when a shadow passed over Clary. Her heart gave a lurch but she calmed down when she looked up and saw a familiar face, "Hi Magnus."

"Now I know you are not ruining that beautiful dress by sitting in the dirt are you?" He smirked and then proceeded to sit in front of her on a blanket her procured out of thin air.

"So, you heard huh?" She didn't feeling like going through all the niceties.

"Isabelle called me. You know they are going to scour the city for you and this will be one of the first places they'll look." His voice was filled with concern. He hadn't been there to witness the catastrophe. He and Alec had been separated for the past month and Magnus was trying to be scarce when it came to events. Clary understood. She wanted Magnus at her wedding, but the pain of a break up can be too much to handle. She especially understood now.

"Well I'll find someplace else to go." She said.

Magnus smiled, "You know you are just avoiding a problem you will eventually have to face?"

"Yeah, well, I'm in no state to talk to anyone."

"Well, you're talking to me." Magnus said in a matter of fact sort of way.

"Yeah I guess I am," Clary managed to half smile, "I just don't want to talk to anyone who was there. They all saw the terribleness of it. All they'll want to do is tell me how everything will be alright, how we'll patch things up. Well everything won't be alright. Not right now. I'm hurting and I just want to hurt. I want to work through my pain my own way and I'll go to them when I am ready to talk." She was a little out of breath after her rant but she had to admit that she felt a little better.

They had sat in silence for a bit when Magnus stood up suddenly. He grabbed Clary's hands and pulled her to her feet. She didn't put up a fight. Truthfully she had started to cramp up and felt like she needed to stretch; she just had no desire to move.

"What's going on Magnus?" She asked while she blindly searched the back of her dress for any dirt. Thankfully it didn't feel like there was any.

Magnus took her by the hand and started leading her out of the park, "You're coming home with me." When he saw she was about to argue he interrupted, "Ah, I don't want to hear it. If you are trying not to be found then you will do best not sitting in a shadowhunter training area. Besides I have a shower and extra clothes that you can change into. That is, unless you want to remain in your wedding dress."

She looked down at herself and after a brief thought started walking along side of Magnus heading in the direction of his apartment.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will be adding more soon. Please feel free to comment. Since I am new to the world of fanfiction I welcome all comments on how to make my stories better. **


	2. The Aftermath

**AN: I have a better idea where I want to take this story now. Bear with me, I'm still trying to find the right wording to make the story flow so it may be a couple days before chapter 3 is posted.  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters only the plot line. **

"Get him to the bed…ow, no Simon to the right." Alec and Simon were struggling to get a nonresponsive Jace to his bed. They had managed to hit their own bodies on every table corner and door frame in their path. Finally at the side of the bed they both released his arms guiding him to a sitting position.

Isabelle followed close behind them with a glass of water, a washcloth, and her steel. She set her items on the side table and bent to meet Jace's eyes, "Jace? Jace can you hear me?" she questioned hoping to get some response. He hadn't said a word since they wound him on the floor in front of the door. He didn't move himself, but didn't put up a fight when they started moving him. His silence worried Isabelle. For as long as she had known Jace he always had something to say, even if she didn't always like it.

After a few more unsuccessful attempts Simon gently grabbed Isabelle by the shoulders and held her in his arms, "It'll be okay Iz, he'll come around. I think it's best if we just let him be for the night. He started guiding her toward the door glancing back at Alec who nodded for them to go without him.

When Simon and Isabelle shut the door Alec pulled a chair up to the bed and positioned it in front of his parabatai. He didn't say anything, but made it plainly obvious that he wasn't going anywhere for the night. He grabbed a spare pillow and a blanket and made himself more comfortable, striping down to his undershirt and boxers and settled into the chair after turning out the light.

After a long moment Jace laid down on the bed. He didn't cover himself or even make an attempt to take of his wedding clothes. He just lay there staring up at the celling. Alec watched his friend with worried eyes until sleep took over.

* * *

Simon and Isabelle walked down the hall, their fingers laced together, Isabelle's head on Simon's shoulder. They had been walking in silence since the left Jace's room. The whole night had felt very surreal. Simon was thinking about all the days leading up to what was supposed to be his best friend's happiest day.

Isabelle had dragged him into several different stores looking for the perfect outfit. "I want to look amazing, but I don't want to outshine Clary," she said wearing a floor length gown. This was their fifth store today.

Simon stood from the chair he had been sitting in and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist, pulling her close to him, "I sorry to break it to you Iz," he said as he rested he forehead to her, "but anything you wear will have you outshining all who are near you." He then kissed her gently, but passionately. When he pulled away from the kiss Isabelle was clinging on to him for support. It brought him a sense of pride to be able to make the beautiful girl, his girlfriend, weak at the knees.

When she regained her composer she glanced around the room, "Maybe I can just wear a simple black dress," she spotted the perfect one on the other side of the store. They bought it and head back to the institute. There everything was in a bustle trying to get ready for the ceremony.

Shadowhunters from Idris had portaled in for the wedding. None of them wanted to miss the wedding of their heroes, the two who risked their lives to save their home. In fact so many families had shown up that the institute was almost at capacity. Mayrse said if too many more shadowhunters showed up they might have to start looking into hotels.

Simon and Isabelle headed upstairs to the training room where all the clothes for the ceremony were being stored. Everyone's clothing was going to receive special gold runes for the marriage. There they ran into Clary and Jace, they were putting their prospective garments on a rack in the room.

"Hey you two," Clary smiled. She hugged them both.

Jace shook Simons hand and hugged his sister.

"So are you two ready to spend these last couple of days apart?" Isabelle asked with a prodding smile.

Jace pulled Clary close to him, "Not one bit," he said smiling at her. He then leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss. By the looks of how long the kiss lasted, they forgot about Simon and Isabelle for a moment. When they finally pulled apart Clary was blushing and Jace was smiling like a fool.

"So, "Simon said awkwardly, when do you two say your last good byes as an unmarried couple?"

"In about an hour," Clary responded solemnly. Simon could tell that she wasn't looking forward to two whole days without seeing or speaking to Jace. This wasn't something that was required, but something they had discussed doing to make the ceremony more special.

Jace gave her a kiss on her forehead, "Don't worry my love; two days will pass by before you know it."

Simon couldn't help but think how perfect they were together. How happy his best friend looked in that moment. How in just a three days she would be Mrs. Clary Harondale.

That was three days before the ceremony. Three days before this shitty situation. His heart felt heavy for his best friend. When they reached Isabelle's bedroom door Simon finally broke the silence, "I can't believe Jace would do this to Clary. After all this time and all they've been through."

"Hold up," Isabelle said sounding as if Simon personally insulted her, "we have no idea what is going one in his head. I'm sure this is killing him." She had released Simon's hand and had her arms crossed over her chest, "Did you see him? He's practically catatonic." Simon could see she was fight back tears for her brother.

"Izzy, I know it hurts him, but what about Clary, what about how he just embarrassed her in front of all of Idris?" Simon softened his voice. He didn't want to fight with Isabelle. They were on the right path ever since he got his memories back and he wasn't going to let anything ruin that.

Isabelle dropped her arms to her side, "I know," she said with a softened tone, "I know what he did was stupid, and I know it's probably killing Clary; but I also know he would never want to hurt her, so whatever possessed him to do what he did he must have a reason."

Simon saw the grief on his girlfriend's face and pulled her to him; he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head, "We'll figure this out Iz," he said, then gently kissed her cheek, "Come on go get some rest."

Released from Simon's arms Isabelle turned and opened her door, "Simon," she said without looking at him, "would you stay with me tonight?"

Simon smiled and turned Isabelle's face to meet his gaze, "Nothing would make me happier."

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it was a quick read, but I'm hoping chapter 3 will be long and juicy. Please let me know what you think so far.**


	3. Make it better

**AN: I hope you enjoy this chapter. I now know where I want to take this story. It's going to take a few chapters but you all will get the answers to the questions you have been asking. **

The sky was a dark purple by the time they made it back to Magnus' apartment. When they got inside she saw that is was simplistically decorated with leather furniture. She sat herself on an oversized chair. Leaning back into the cushions, she closed her eye and found herself crying again. She felt a terrible pressure on her chest.

After what seemed like an eternity, Clary opened her eyes. Magnus set a change of clothes and a towel on the table in front of her. She reluctantly got up to the warmth of the chair and headed to the guest bathroom.

As she was in the shower she felt like she was on auto piolet. She didn't think about anything; it was just like her body knew what to do without the help of her mind. When she was done, she changed into the sweatpants and t-shirt Magnus provided her. Before she left the bathroom she looked at herself in the mirror. The overwhelming evidence of sadness was present on her face. She felt like throwing up but knew nothing would come out but stomach acid. She had been too excited to eat that morning.

She heard a knock at the door. Magnus' voice sounded through it, "Hey, you still alive in there?"

She opened the door to the pajama clad warlock. He was holding a mug of what looked like tea in his hand. He offered the beverage to her. She didn't particularly feel thirsty, but she accepted knowing that she needed to put something in her stomach. She took a sip and sighed as the liquid warmed her insides. She followed Magnus to the living room claiming the chair she was in earlier.

Magnus broke the silence first, "So I called Jocelyn," he began, taking a seat on the sofa adjacent to her chair, "I let her know that you were okay. It took some convincing, well more like begging, to keep her from rushing over here. I figured you would want to avoid prying questions and good intentions at the moment."

Clary smiled. It was like he read her mind, "Thank you Magnus. I love my mom but she can be a little overbearing at times," she set her empty mug on the coffee table and covered herself with the throw from the back of the chair, "Besides, I really don't need to hear her Jace-bashing right now." Her eyes started feeling heavy, I'll call her tomorrow."

"Yeah, you get some rest. Everything will still be there tomorrow." Magnus got up from the couch, took her mug to the kitchen and turned out the lights. He stole one last glance at the now sleeping Clary before retiring to his room.

* * *

Simon knocked on the door to the warlock's apartment. He figured 2:00 in the afternoon was an appropriate time to try and see Clary. He and Isabelle had received the call from Luke last night letting them know that Jocelyn heard from Magnus. Simon convinced Isabelle to let him go see Clary on his own. He knew she wouldn't want to see him, but he also knew that of anyone he was probably the best person to attempt confronting her first.

Magnus open the door wearing nothing but shiny blue pajama bottoms, "Simon. To what do I owe this unwelcome visit?" Sarcasm was dripping from every word he spoke.

Believe it or not this was an improvement for Magnus. When they first met it was like Magnus refused to remember Simon's name; but ever since Simon sacrificed himself for the group Magnus has shown him respect, well in his own Magnus sort of way.

Simon rolled his eyes, "Well I'm certainly not here to confess my love for you," he smiled. "I came to see Clary."

Magnus remained still for a moment, but after a thought moved to the side granting Simon entrance. Simon moved to the living room seeing Clary on the chair still fast asleep. He turned to Magnus, "How long has she been asleep?"

"Since about 11 o'clock last night," Magnus replied. He made his way into the kitchen and by the looks of things was making himself lunch.

Simon stood on the other side of the counter, "Why don't you just use magic to make your food?" He questioned, staring at the pots and pans Magnus had gathered on the stove.

Magnus smiled, "You don't understand, if I use my magic for everything only you lose the human part of me." He put his food on a plate, chicken Alfredo by the looks of it, and move to the dining room table. "We warlocks are part demon, if we don't do human things we lose touch of our human side. Over time will become unemotional and unresponsive to emotional situations. I don't wish to become that." He sat down and started his meal, "If you're hungry there's plenty in there," he nodded towards the kitchen.

Simon was in no mood for food. He wanted to see what was going on with his friend, "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'm going to go try to wake Clary up." He headed back to the living room and sat on the arm of the chair Clary was sleeping in. I took notice of the grief that haunted her sleeping face. He sighed. She wasn't even able to escape her new demons in her dreams. Simon gently shook her, "Clary. Clary wake up."

Clary gasped suddenly and sat up straight. It took her a moment to notice Simon sitting by her, "Simon? What are you doing here?" There was a hint of accusation in her voice.

"Ouch Fray, can't a guy check on his best friend?" He instantly regretted using her last name. While it was something he often did, he knew that as of yesterday she was meant to change her name to Herondale. "I…I'm so sorry Clary," he said when he saw the hurt expression on her face. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Again, he regretted his words.

She shot off the couch, "Of course I'm not okay, Simon. I just got left at the altar. In front of hundreds of people. By the man who promised not to ever hurt me." She was shaking, but it was evident that cold was not the culprit. She fell to her knees, "What happened? How could I be so blind as to not see that he didn't want this?" She was on the verge of tears, but Simon could tell she was fighting it.

He dropped to his knees in front of her and wrapped her in his arms holding her tight. He wanted to stop her pain. He didn't understand how thing got to be where they were, "Clary I don't believe that Jace didn't want to marry you. Something must going on."

Clary pulled out of his embrace. "Simon, what do you mean? He made his feeling very clear. He said he felt thing were moving too fast for him. Though I don't understand how nearly four years of being together is too fast." She stood back up. Her contempt for Simon even sounding like he was siding with Jace must have fueled her strength.

"Clary, think for a moment, you two were doing great those days before the wedding. Something must have happened to him, a demon, or a spell. We just have to figure it out what or who may hav..."

"Simon enough!" Clary's voice filled the whole room. Her fist were clenched by her sides her lips pressed in a thin line. "Simon, I'm sorry," her voice softened, "but I really don't want to talk about this. I don't want to talk about any of it." She crossed her arms over her chest, Simon knew he'd lost this round.

He got up from his spot on the floor, "Okay Clary. I'll stop. Do you need anything? Is there anything that I could do for you?"

After a moment's thought she said "Please, go back and tell everyone I'm sorry for this disaster they had to endure." She walked up to give him a hug, "and please tell my mom that I need some time alone. I know she is just dying to come rescue me from my sorrow, but I can't handle it right now. I need to work some things out in my head right now before I can see anyone else."

He gave her a gentle squeeze back, "Yeah no problem." He didn't want to leave but he knew that if she said she wanted to be with her own thoughts he needed to respect her wishes. He headed to the door, but before leaving turned to Magnus who had been pretending not to listen the whole time, "Hey you better take care of her," and with that he made his exit.

* * *

"What do you mean she doesn't want to see me? I'm her mother! I should be there with her, to help her through this!" Isabelle could hear Jocelyn screaming through Simon's phone. She was not happy that Clary had specifically requested no one visit her. Isabelle wasn't too thrilled about it either, but she understood where Clary was coming from. Sometimes it is easier to work through your troubles without other's interference. However, Isabelle was not happy that her boyfriend had to be the one receiving the wrath of Jocelyn.

"Yes…I understand…no I don't think she's trying to hurt you…yes, as soon as I hear word you will be the first person I call…no, not even Isabelle…okay bye." He finally hung up the phone and sat on Isabelle's vanity chair.

"So, not even Isabelle what?" She probed.

Simon smiled weakly, "If I hear from Clary I'm to let Jocelyn know first before even you."

"Well that is perfectly understandable." She smile, "and if I'm with you if and when you finally do hear from her, I'll pretend I didn't hear a word. Can't have my man getting in any kind of trouble." She winked at him.

Simon smiled again, this time it reached his eyes. "Come here." He patted his leg. She got up from the bed and sat on his lap as directed. "All of this drama has me so glad that I have such a wonderful woman as you in my life." He reached up and cupped her face with his hand. "How on earth did I get so lucky?"

She let his hand pull her face to meet his. Just as her lips were about to meet his she said, "It was I who was the lucky one," then pressed her lips against his. Their kiss was slow and passionate. Filled with all the love the both had for each other.

The kissed was short lived when Alec burst through the door. Isabelle broke away from the kiss to start berating her brother when he interrupted her, "Jace is gone."

**I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me your reviews and let me know what you think so far. **


	4. Safe Hideaway

**AN:This chapter is short but important. I didn't want to make you all wait too long but I've been tied up with school and work. I promise things will start building more soon. **  
**As for those who don't want this to be a Clary/Magnus ship, I can't promise anything, but please continue reading; things aren't going in a straight line here. **  
**Disclaimer:I don not own these characters. **

Jace didn't know where he was going, all he knew was he couldn't take being in the institute any longer. He knew Alec was just trying to be a good friend and parabatai, but he could take the "check ins" any longer. He could sense the worry radiating off Alec every time he poked his head in the door. He could sense the disappointment from Izzy when she'd tried to get him to eat breakfast.

He knew he had messed up. This was probably the biggest fuck-up of his life. No one would understand; damn it, he hardly understood. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Clary. But he did. He saw her spirt shatter in her eyes the moment the words left his mouth. He didn't want to do it that way, but there was no other chance. If he didn't say anything they would have been married.

He did what he did for good reasons. He would make Clary understand. He needed her to understand.

* * *

Clary had finally eaten after Simon left. Magnus wouldn't let her be so she finally caved and had a grilled cheese. It was actually really good.

"Wow Magnus, where did you snag that from?" She asked once her plate was clear.

Magnus feigned a shocked expression, "why would you not assume I made it?" He smiled.

Clary felt a small smile play on her lips. Even though it had been less than 24 hours ago, it felt like a lifetime since she last smiled. "So where _did _you get it?"

"Actually biscuit, I really did make it." He moved to clear the plates away. Clary smiled again hearing Magnus' nickname for her. He hadn't called her that in a while. "We warlocks need to keep a certain amount of humanity in our everyday tasks or we'll become stone. Well not literally," he added seeing her confused expression, "our hearts can petrify. We will lose our sense of emotions. Happiness, sadness, love, they all come from our human side. If we ignore it we lose it." He was in the kitchen cleaning the plates off by hand.

Clary stood from her seat and joined him, grabbing a towel to begin the drying process. "What about heartbreak? Why would you want to keep that emotion?"

"Can't pick and choose. It's a packaged deal." He paused for a moment, a brief bought of sorrow crossed his face. "Sadness and heartbreak is all part of being human. Of course it sucks but it's survivable."

Clary set the plate she had been drying in the dish rack and turned to lean against the counter, "I don't know," she said softly, "what if I don't survive this? I feel like I have nothing left to live for"

Magnus move to stand in front of her. He placed his hands of the counter on either side of her caging her in, "Clary listen to me, you will get through this," he leaned in to meet his face to hers, "I know you thought that you and Jace would have a 'happily ever after' but you didn't. You have your whole life to find someone else. Very few people actually find their 'true love' at the first go around."

"But Jace and I loved each other." Clary protested.

"Well, obviously not as much as you thought." Magnus stepped closer to her, "My words may hurt but you know they are true. Maybe you two will patch things up, maybe not; but right now_ you_ are the one who was left at the altar. You need to do some soul searching and figure out if this is the guy you want to be with. Do you _want_ to be with the guy who broke your heart in front of everyone you knew?"

His words hit her like a seraph blade to the head. Jace _did_ leave her at the altar. In front of not only everyone she knew but practically all of Idris. She replayed Magnus' words in her head. She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize that he was still staring her down; like he was waiting for an answer.

"You're right." She finally said after another moment of thought. "He did leave me; and he did it in the worse way possible. I will survive. I'll get over this."

"That a girl biscuit," his smiled and stepped back from the counter and Clary, "Look, why don't you stay here for a while?" He sounded sincere, "you know, while you work through your thoughts. You can use one of the back bedrooms and your mom and friends can come visit, when you're ready of course."

Clary's eyes widened in surprise, "Really?" She had never heard Magnus give such an invitation before. Of course they had stayed there, but only in times of danger, and even then he was reluctant, "Are you sure?"

He gave her a playfully stern look, "of course I'm sure. I wouldn't offer if I wasn't. Besides, it has been awfully quiet here lately. It will be nice to have someone to talk to besides Chairman Meow; not that he's bad company, but he sleeps more than he's awake," he chuckled.

Clary gave a serious thought to this. Magnus' apartment gave her enough seclusion so she could avoid the prying eyes of the clave, but she could still have contact with her friend and family once she was ready to talk. Of course that may not be for a few days. She needed to let the heat die down on the whole situation. "I would love to stay," she said, and found herself hugging Magnus.

**More to come soon. Please let me know what you think so far.**


	5. Unsuccessful Explinations

**AN: Now things are going to pick up. I know there are concerns about a Clary/Magnus ship, and there is a good chance of that happening, but not necessarily a permanent ship. I'll understand if some of you stop reading, it is your choice, but I do ask that you hang in there.**

Jace found himself in front of Magnus' apartment building. He didn't know how he got there. His subconscious led him down a blind path that ended where he knew Clary was hold up. He'd overheard Alec and Izzy, when the thought he was sleeping, talking about how Clary was with Magnus and she wasn't talking to anyone, not even her mother. He had slipped out of the institute when Alec went to update Maryse on the situation. His initial plan was not to go after Clary; he just wanted some fresh air.

Deep down he knew he would end up here, but he also knew there was no way Clary was going to speak to him.

Confused on what his next move was going to be he just stood there and stared. It was late fall and the chill in the air seeped through his jacket. He felt the cold, but made no move to warm himself. The cold reminded him that he could feel; that he didn't die when Clary walked out that door.

He knew he was the cause of his pain, he wasn't that vain; but she could have heard him out. After everything, all they had been through, she could have listened to him. He started to grow angry at his thought process. _Why would she just run out on me? She has to know that I had my reasons. She has to know why I did what I did. She needs to hear it. _

After another moment of standing still he found himself moving towards the apartment building. He slipped in behind another tenant and made his way up the stairs. When he reached the door without hesitation he raised his fist and began to bang on the door, "CLARY! CLARY I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU NOW! OPEN UP I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"

* * *

Clary was sitting on her bed in borrowed room when she heard the loud disturbance coming from the front door. She walked out to the hallway and was met by Magnus. He looked irritated but not angry.

Clary looked apologetically at Magnus, "I knew he'd be coming, but I didn't think it'd be so soon."

"No worries,' Magnus replied, surprisingly gentle, "Would you like me to get rid of him?"

Clary wanted to say yes; she didn't want to deal with this now, she wasn't emotionally ready, but she knew she had to face him and why not get it out of the way. "Thanks, but I'll deal with him."

Magnus didn't move right away. Clary could see the look of concern painted on his face. After a moment he stepped aside. As she walked by him he grabbed her arm, "Look darling, I applaud you for handling this, but I'll be right here if he gets too out of hand okay." He released her and let her continue the walk to the door.

The banging and shouting lasted the whole walk. She placed her hand on the door knob and with one last glance at Magnus she swung the door open.

_Silence_

Jace stood there speechless, his face red from all the yelling he just did. Clary crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the need to put up a protective barrier. While she knew Jace would never physically harm her, she still felt like he could do some more emotional damage.

After what seemed like several minutes passed Clary finally broke the silence, "Why are you here Jace?" She tried to keep the distain out of her voice, but she was wildly unsuccessful. The sight of him made her heart hurt. Just two days ago she couldn't wait to see him again, but now she couldn't wait until he left her sight.

He didn't say anything right away. He just looked at her like he hadn't seen her in years. When he finally did speak his voice was hoarse from all the yelling but he spoke softly, "I need to talk to you."

Clary's heart immediately lurched in her chest. Her first instinct would be to hug and kiss him and say something like, _of course we can talk, but she was hurting_, but she had no desire to talk to him. Not civilly at least. "No," was all she responded with.

"What do you mean 'no'?" The volume of Jace's voice went up a few notches

"I mean no. No you don't need to talk to me."

"Clary, you need to hear why I did what I did. I nev…"

"Shut up Jace," her words came out with a bitter taste. "You need to leave. I thought I could do this, but I don't want to see you nor do I want to hear what you have to say." She went to shut the door, more like slam it, when Jace pushed his way into the apartment.

"No Clary you have to hear me out, no, you are _going_ to hear me out." His voice had grown intense. Clary was certain, now, that she should have not answered the down.

She took a step back from him and attempted to match his intensity, "Jace leave; now." She was surprise at how her words came out in an even tone. She was sure by how upset she now was that her voice would start to shake. "I can't do this Jace I can't hear your stupid reasons as to why you did something so cruel. It was our wedding day and you called it off; and in front of everyone!" As her voice started to rise it began to falter.

Jace lost any semblance of composure he had, "You walked out on me, Clary," his words drip in anger, "You didn't give me a chance to explain myself to…"

"Explain yourself?" Clary exploded. "Explain why you waited until we were standing at the altar to break up with me? Explain how after everything we've been through, everything we've survived you finally decide you no longer want to be with me? No, I'd rather not hear the explanation for that" She turned around in frustration; she couldn't look at him any longer. Tears started to burn the back of her throat.

"Clary, don't turn your back on me." Jace demanded. "You cannot just run to Magnus to hide you and ignore me. You have got to listen to me."

"I've heard enough Jace." The flood gates had burst and tears were freely flowing down Clary's cheeks. She turned to face him again, "It's time for you to leave, I mean it."

"No Clary, I will not lea…"

"I believe the young lady asked you to leave." Magnus appeared in front of Jace, blocking his view of Clary.

Jace straightened himself, "Magnus, no offense, but this has nothing to do with you." Jace's tone was cold.

Magnus smile a not so kind smile, "but my dear shadowhunter, that is where you are wrong," He took a step towards Jace and Jace instinctively took a step back, "You see, we are in my home, where the lovely Clary has chosen to stay while sorting out her thoughts; thoughts that you have caused her to have to think about. While I understand you would like to talk to her, I do not care. I do not care to hear you explain your despicable action toward someone you claim to love."Magnus took another step forward and Jace one back. "You need to do as Clary asks and leave, now, before I remove you myself."

By the time Magnus was done talking he had taken enough steps toward Jace that Jace was now at the door. He looked over Magnus' shoulder at Clary, "So this is really how it's going to be Clary?" Without an answer he turned and exited the apartment his fist clenched at his sides.

Magnus shut and locked the door. When he turned to look at Clary she had collapsed to the floor. Her her face buried in her knees, and tears feely flowing. Magnus moved to sit by her. He stretched his legs on either side of her body, wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her against his chest.

He held her until her tears stopped. When she got the strength she sat up and looked at Magnus. Her face was stained with tears and had two red spots where her knees had been pressing into it. They just looked at each other for a moment. Clary took a deep breath, "I'm sorry," was all she said.

**Please let me know what you think. The next chapter is in the works. **


	6. The Wedding

**AN: Okay so I've been wanting to write this scene for a while. I think Ch ****6 is the best place for it. I hope you all enjoy this.  
I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews Please keep them coming. I know you want to know why Jace did what he did, and I promise you will find out. **

The sanctuary had been transformed from its shabby normal state into an elegant room. Thanks to Catarina the space had been made larger to accommodate the 200 plus shadowhunters who had made the trip to bear witness to the union of Jace and Clary. She had also created chandeliers of red and gold flowers that cascaded from the ceiling and added several pews to the space adorned with gold silk more flowers. The aisle between the pews, the one intended for the bride to walk down, was also covered with delicate-looking gold material-it was surprising that the material didn't tear when someone stepped on it- and sprinkled with red rose petals.

There were large gold runes for love on the doubled-door entrance. Shadowhunters flooded through it filling the pews throughout the room. A low hum of chatter rose as the crowd grew. Excitement sizzled in the air.

Simon and Isabelle entered the sanctuary and made their way towards their reserved seat at the front. Simon was dressed in a black gear etched in gold runes; Isabelle was in a light gold dress that stopped mid-thigh with barely visible lighter gold runes covering it. They found their seats next to Alec; Simon let Isabelle slide in first and sat down after her.

Alec was there with is boyfriend Nathanial in their rune covered, black gear; they had been dating almost a year. Simon wasn't too fond of their relationship since it meant the heartbreak of Magnus. Alec and Magnus had a huge falling out two years prior. While Simon never did get the entire story, he did get the gist of it from Izzy. Pretty much Alec couldn't let go of the fact that Magnus would out live him, and Magnus couldn't find a way to safely remove his immortality without dying in a matter of months. So Alec gave up. He wanted to be with someone he saw a future with; someone he could picture growing old with. He had known Nathaniel for a while before the break-up, but it took him a while to ask him out.

Even though the break-up was two years old, it still prevented Magnus from accepting an invitation to the wedding. Clary had tried on several occasions to convince Magnus that she would do everything in her power to make sure that he wouldn't see Alec. Magnus gracefully declined every time. He had said it would be too hard for her to control the environment of such a large gathering of people. He did give her his word that he would get her an extravagant give that would top anyone else's.

Simon let his eyes wander the room until they caught sight of Luke and Jocelyn. Luke made eye contact with Simon. Smiling he nudged Jocelyn to make her aware of Simon's location. A huge grin covered her face as she waved at him. She made a move to stand but found it difficult to do so with her 8 months pregnant belly hindering her movements. She decided another wave and a blown kiss would suffice.

Simon Smiled and returned the wave but decided to pass on blowing a kiss. As he settled back against the pew, he took Isabelle's hand. It looked like the ceremony was starting. The buzz of chatter around him started to die down as gentle music filled the air. He could his finger on what kind of instruments were being played, nor could he see where the sound was coming from; so he decided that it was probably magically created.

After a few moments, the crowd stood and faced the rear entrance. As they did the door opened to a beautifully dressed Clary. She was wearing a golden floor length ball gown. It hugged her from her chest to her waist and then slightly flared out. She had decided that a vail was too mundane and instead pinned her curls into a lovely up do. She had also forewent having a bouquet; she simple clasped her hands in front of her, displaying the Harondale ring that she was about to give back to Jace.

As she made her way down the aisle she smiled and nodded at as many people. She was so obviously happy that it was contagious. Simon broke out in a face-splitting grin as she moved past him. He felt Isabelle hug his arm with excitement. When he looked over at her he could see that she was fighting to keep tears from spilling on to her cheeks.

When he looked back at Clary she had finally made it to the front, and Jace had appeared next to her. Consul Penhallow stood at the front, not so much to perform the ceremony, but to guide it along. She started to speak when Jace raised his hand to stop her. He started to say something to Clary but the volume of his voice was so low Simon couldn't hear what was being said.

By the looks of it Jace was trying to move Clary off to the side, but she looked too confuse to move. Jia had moved herself off to the side of the altar. If Simon's lip-reading was reliable, it looked like Jace was having trouble getting words out and Clary was asking what was wrong. The whole congregation watched on silently, no doubt all thinking the same questions. Clary continued her prodding.

Suddenly Jace broke the silence; his voice boomed through the entire room, "I don't want to get married!"

**I hope you liked it!**


	7. Magnus' Heartbreak

**AN: Hey y'all, I'm really sorry about the delay it updating. School has been kicking my ass. When it comes to writing this story I can his high word counts, but it's hard reach 350 when writing for school. What's with that? I hope y'all like this chapter. I had to work out the way I wanted this to go. I hope you like it. Please read and review. **

Magnus had carried Clary to bed. They had sat on the floor until she cried herself to sleep. They hadn't said a word since her unnecessary apology. He held her as she got it all out of her; all the tears, all the pain, all the emotion. Even when she stopped crying he didn't move. He just rubbed her back to remind her that he was there.

When she had finally fallen asleep he didn't want to wake her. He knew she had probably not been able to sleep too well the night before, so instead, he gently carried her to the room she chose to stay in and covered her with a quilt. As he left the room he turned to steal on last look at her before shutting the door and heading to the kitchen.

Magnus made himself some tea and sat at the dining room table. He found himself thinking about the curly redhead in the other room. His heart broke for her. He had seen her with scraped knees, bruises and even a few sprang ankles; these were side effects of her being a clumsy child. But she was no longer a child. She was a grown woman, dealing with a very grown problem. A problem he could all too well relate with.

There was a knock on the front door. Magnus went to the door and swung it open; he instantly regretted not having ignored the knock instead. He looked at the face of his ex-boyfriend and contemplated slamming the door in his face. He decided to be nice instead.

"Hello Alexander, to what do I owe this visit?" Magnus remained in the doorway, not moving to invite the shadowhunter in; he wanted to make this a short visit. He hadn't seen Alec since the break-up and he would be fine not ever seeing him again.

Alec sighed heavily, "Magnus, how are you doing?" there was no emotion in his voice, "I'm here to try to convince Clary to come back to the institute and talk things out with Jace."

Magnus crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Alec, "Seriously Alexander?" Magnus looked at him

Alec huffed a little, "Jace would like to explain himself to her, but he certainly can't do that with you influencing her thoughts."

Magnus turned away from Alec and slammed the door shut. He was about to lock it magically when Alec threw it back open and walked in. They both had their arms crossed at their chest and stared silently at each other.

Alec finally broke the silence, "Look can we be adults for a moment? I know that the only reason you won't let Clary see Jace is because of you hatred for me; but could you be at least relent and let Jace talk to her?"

Magnus scoffed, "It would be just like you to make this situation about yourself."

"I am doing no such thing," Alec defended, "I'm simply stating that your feelings towards the ways things ended with us may be affecting the way you treat this situation."

"Oh, you mean when you broke up with me and then your new boyfriend came knocking on my door to pick you up?" He arched an eyebrow at that, "Of course I hold no ill feelings about that Alexander." Sarcasm dripped from every work he spoke. "Besides, I have nothing to do with Clary's decision to not see Jace."

"Sure you don't," Alec muttered.

"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?"

Alec scoffed, "You'd do anything not to have to suffer alone, including making Jace just as miserable as you were at our break up."

Magnus reeled back as if Alec had physically slapped him. "How dare you accuse me of such actions? It's like you have forgotten everything about me. Yes you left me Alexander, and yes you broke my heart, but I'm not sitting around licking my wounds like a hurt little puppy," Magnus' voice started to rise, "I've moved on from you Alexander, and would never want anyone to feel what I felt when I was hurting; I would never want anyone to feel the pain of their heart shattering in their chest; not Jace, not Clary, not even you."

Silence

"Believe me or not, Alec, but I'm telling you the truth, she doesn't want to talk to him, nor should she have to," Magnus' was speaking in barely a whisper now. There was a slight tone of hurt in his voice, "I think you would believe me seeing as I never lied to you once in our relationship."

Alec lowered his gaze to the floor.

"I think it is best if the lot of you just remained away from her for the moment," Magnus continued, "Let her come to you. She's hurting right now and the last thing she needs is constant reminders of why she is in my spare bedroom instead of on her honeymoon."

Alec lifted his gazed to meet Magnus' eyes. There was another stretch of silence before Alec finally spoke, "Well…I guess I can…I mean, I'll get Jace to back off a bit; or at least I'll try." He held eye contact for a moment before speaking again, "Well I…I should get going. Nathan is waiting downstairs…" He stopped; realization crossing his face.

Magnus shrugged, "Yeah, you should get going."

"Okay. Well, bye." And with that Alec turned and left the apartment closing the door behind him.

Magnus stood still for a moment, but as soon as he was sure Alec was gone for good he broke. He collapsed to the floor, his head leaning against the side of the chair. Tears started flowing down his cheeks. He hated crying. He hated that Alec could make him feel like this. 800 years and no one had hurt him quite like this. He sat there and cried for hours or minutes or seconds, he wasn't sure. He wanted to move, to go to bed and finish crying there, but he couldn't will himself to actually move.

After what felt like an eternity the tears finally stopped flowing. He knew he should move, if not to go to bed then at least to get off his knees. Just as he stood up, he felt a pair of petite arms wrap around him. He turned to find Clary's tear filled eyes looking up at him.

He hugged her back as a soft smile formed on his lips, "Hey biscuit."


	8. A Mother's Daughter

**AN: I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews. I am currently working on getting the story updated more frequently. I'd like to thank some of you for your suggestions; I am working on making sure the story doesn't go too slowly. It should pick up more in the next couple of chapters. I have so many ideas for this story that is looks like it could be a bit longer than I originally expected. **  
**I hope everyone likes this chapter. I wanted to stir up some mother-daughter feels. Please read and review. **

Clary opened the door to an impatient-looking Jocelyn. It had been a week since the wedding catastrophe and Clary finally agreed to let her mother visit. She wasn't trying to be cruel in keeping her away, she just needed time before having her mother rehash the events that already took place.

Before Clary could get a word out, her mother scooped her into a tight hug. Clary hugged her back trying to be careful not to squeeze her stomach too hard. When the hug finally ended Clary gave her mother's stomach an adoring rub, "How's my baby brother doing?"

Jocelyn let out a long breath, "He's trying out for gymnastics. Now don't try and distract me. You know why I am here young lady." She wrapped her arm around Clary's and led her purposefully to Magnus' living room. They both sat on the couch and turned their bodies to face each other. Jocelyn wasted no time getting down to business, "So, what are you planning to do now that you and Jace are not getting married."

Clary flinched a little. A week of grieving was still not enough for her to be prepared for her mother's blunt questioning, "Well mother, I don't know. I obviously cannot go back to the institute; I would very much hate to run in to Ja…him." She couldn't bring herself to say his name. Every time she even thought of him her heart felt like it was breaking all over again. She had been spending the entire week trying not to think of Jace, but no matter what she did her thoughts guided her back to some memory of him and her when they were happy.

"That little asshole; how dare he break your heart the way he did. How dare he break your heart at all! If I weren't about to drop this child I would go over there and kick his ass for hurting my baby girl. What got into him? Why would he wait until the last possible second?" Jocelyn grew angrier with each question she asked, "I swear, he's no better than the man who raised him." She abruptly stopped talking, realizing she went too far.

Clary felt her face warm over with frustration, "Mom stop!" She said through gritted teeth, "Jace is nothing like Valentine and you know it. I don't know why he did what he did," tears started prickling her eyes, "Yes it hurts; it hurts more than anything, but sitting asking me why he did what he did isn't going to do anything to help." Clary's words were stern. She was hoping her mother would get the point that she didn't want to discuss Jace any longer.

Luckily it seemed that Jocelyn got the message, because she quickly changed the topic, "Clary you know you are more than welcome to come stay with Luke and me," her mother said a little too eagerly. Clary knew her mother would love nothing more than to have her daughter away from all things shadowhunter related; but Clary couldn't give it up. She loved being a shadowhunter. She loved feeling strong and protecting people.

"Mom, you know I love you, but with Gabe coming you two are going to be cramped enough as it is." She said as she reached out to rub her mom's swollen belly once more. Her mom and Luke still lived in the two bedroom apartment above the bookstore, and granted Jocelyn had remodeled the entire space to make it less manly, it was still too small to try and fit a tired adult in. Clary continued, "Besides mom, you and I will bump heads far too much for either of our likings." There had been many arguments regarding Clary's shadowhunter responsibilities and whether or not she was an adult before she had moved to the institute.

Jocelyn huffed in exasperation, "Well, then where do you plan on staying then?" Clary could tell that her mom wasn't happy about her not wanting to stay with her.

"Magnus has offered me a room here for as long as I need." In fact he had reminded her frequently throughout the week that she was more than welcome to stay as long as she needed. Clary wasn't positive, but she had a feeling that Magnus' needed the company as much as she needed a place to stay. He hadn't seemed like his usual self lately, especially since Alec showed up.

As much as she didn't like crying herself, she hated it even more to see Magnus crying that night. He seemed just as broken as she felt. She had spent the remainder of that night just sitting on the couch with him so that neither of them would have to be alone with their ever depressing thoughts.

Jocelyn snapped Clary back to reality, "Where is Magnus?" She questioned, looking around the apartment.

"He went to run some errands. He knew you were coming over to talk to me and he wanted to give us some privacy."

Jocelyn voice was filled with sadness, "Clary, are you sure you are going to be okay here? This cannot be easy, and it might make it easier if you were with family."

Clary clasped her mother's hands in between hers, "Mom, I'll be honest, I'm not fine; I probably won't be fine for a while, but I really just need to be somewhere neutral. And before you say anything, your place is far from neutral. I'm sure Luke is just as angry as you are about this whole mess and I'm sure he'd have no problem rectifying it anyway he sees fit." She smiled at the thought of her protective step-father, "but that is not what I want. I just want to get over this, well as over it as someone in my place can. If I stay with you and Luke all I'll hear is Jace-bashing and I'll never be able to get him out of my mind." Clary knew her mother couldn't deny that there would be Jace-bashing, because if she knew her mother there was already a significant amount of it going on.

Jocelyn raised both her hands in mock surrender, "Okay, okay, if you want to stay here I won't argue it. All I ask is that you call me regularly and not keep me in the dark for an entire week." She pulled her daughter into a hug, "I love you Clarissa; I hate to think of you hurting like this, it worries me. And don't try to tell me not to worry, you are my daughter and I love you."

Clary smile, tears once again threatening to spill, "I love you too mom."


	9. The Break-up

**AN: Whoo 2 chapters in 2 days! Please read and review. I hope y'all enjoy!**

Magnus sat at the bar in the Hunter's Moon nursing a glass of whiskey. True he wasn't a werewolf, but he had garnered a certain amount of respect since the dark war. As long as he didn't cause any trouble he was welcome. He had started coming here more often after Alec left him. He figure it would be the least likely of places that he'd run into his ex.

He'd come here to give Clary and Jocelyn some time alone to talk. He knew that Clary hadn't spoken to her mother since before the ceremony. He understood Clay's motives; Jocelyn could be quite intense at times. He had been keeping her updated as well as he could for the past week. He could call her every morning to assure her that Clary was still at his place and she hadn't had a full-blown meltdown yet.

Though he hadn't admitted it out loud, he really liked having Clary at the apartment. They talked about TV shows, books, and current events; pretty much anything to keep their minds off of their respective tragedies. It put his mind at ease during the moment, and for brief periods of time he would actually forget about Alec.

Magnus buried his face in his hands. It had been nearly two whole years since Alec walked out on him and he still didn't fully understand why. His heart clenched at the memory. He could claim that he was over it all he wanted, but in reality he still hurt every day.

He'd invited Alec over to his place to binge watch Netflix and pig out on junk food; something they did every so often. He hadn't had any idea that something was wrong. They hadn't been fighting; they had actually been getting along better than ever. Magnus felt he could let his walls down with Alec. He felt excited every time they had plans to get together. There had even been discussion of Alec moving in; that thought alone put butterflies in Magnus' stomach.

When Alec arrived at his apartment Magnus could instantly tell that something was wrong. "Alexander? Is everything okay?" Concern coated his voice.

Alec said nothing. He was fidgeting and looking anywhere but at Magnus. This set of some major red flags for Magnus since he usually had to force Alec to quit staring at him. "You're amazing to look at" he used to say, "why would I want to look at anything else? Nothing could measure up to you."

Magnus took a step towards Alec, "Alexander, what's wrong?" Magnus tried to get close to him, but with every step he took forward Alec took one back. He finally gave up. They both stood in silence; Magnus was going to give Alec the time he needed until he was ready to speak.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever until Alec finally broke it, "Magnus, this isn't going to work out," his words came out in barely a whisper.

Magnus was confused. What wasn't going to work out? "What are you talking about Alexander?" he felt like he knew the answer to his own question, but he sure as hell hoped he was wrong.

It was like Alec had found his confidence again, because when he spoke again there was more power behind his words, "Don't be ridiculous Magnus; you know what I am talking about. You and I are not going to work." His words had a slight bite to them.

Magnus found his own confidence and threw some bite back, "How the hell do you expect me to know what you are talking about? Until a minute ago I was under the impression that we were doing good; better than good actually." Magnus felt tightness in his chest.

Alec remained straight-faced, a great skill used by shadowhunters to hide their emotions. "Look Magnus, we've been kidding ourselves. How could we believe that whatever this is," he motioned to the two of them, "would work out long-term?"

Magnus felt his anger turn to rage. Alec was referring to them as if they were nothing; as if their relationship meant nothing. His fists were clenched at his sides, warm blue flames starting to form from his palms. When he spoke he tried to keep his voice even, "How could you even think like this? I just saw you two days ago and everything was fine. Everything was perfect!" Magnus' composer faltered on his last sentence. He took a deep breath and collected himself internally. There was no way he was going to give Alec the satisfaction of seeing him breakdown.

It was clear that Alec was forcing the emotionless look on his face. Knowing him, he was probably trying to make Magnus think he couldn't care less. "It wasn't perfect. We have just been covering our eyes from the truth of how this relationship is just a more advanced game of house. It's nothing real. We'd never actually be able to make it work long-term and you know it. So why not cut and run now? While we both have time to move on with our lives, and find people better suited for ourselves."

Hearing Alec's words, Magnus had an involuntary power surge and shattered his front windows. Alec ducked back to avoid some of the flying shards of glass and ended up falling to the floor. Magnus felt an immediate need to run to his aid, but resisted. Alec pulled himself up and started dusting the pieces of glass off of his sweater.

There was a sudden banging on the front door, but neither Magnus nor Alec made a move to answer it. A second later a blonde haired guy came busting through the door. His eyes quickly scanned the room, after spotting Alec he made his way to him, "Alec are you okay?" his voice was filled with worry; gently grabbed Alec's arms and started examining him for injuries.

When Alec spoke it was in a hushed tone, "Nathan I'm fine. Please go back downstairs; I'll be there in a moment." The Nathan boy hesitated for a moment, but eventually released Alec and headed to the door. He took one last look at the scene in the apartment and then left, closing the door behind him.

Magnus stared at the now closed door, trying to figure out what it was he just witnessed. After a short moment he turned his attention back to Alec; he spoke softly, "So that's why you are doing this," it was a statement rather than a question, "You have found someone else." He tried his best to keep the sorrow out of his voice.

"Really Magnus," Alec scoffed, "do you think that little of me to think I would cheat on you or lie to you." He had a look of hurt on his face "Nathan is a friend. He's been helping me sort out my thoughts these past couple of weeks. And no, he did not encourage me to do this; this was my decision, and I am making it." He turned and headed for the door, "I never wanted to hurt you; but I have to do what is right for me." And with that he was out of the door.

Magnus hadn't seen Alec since that night. He had purposely avoided any situation that would put the two of them in the same vicinity. He had heard through the grapevine that Alec and Nathan had only started dating about a year ago, but Magnus remained convinced that there was something going on between them much longer than that. The looks that passed between the when Nathan ran to Alec's aid that day was undeniably more than just friendship. Magnus was sure that Alec wasn't lying about not cheating, but he was not as convinced that Nathan had nothing to do with their break-up.

Magnus was so lost in thought he didn't notice right away how busy the bar was getting. He didn't like to be here when it was crowded; werewolves tended to get rowdy and Magnus liked to avoid such commotion.

With a glance at the clock he determined that it should be safe to head home. He paid his tab and left the bar.


	10. The Institute

**AN: Okay, so this is a bit of a filler chapter just to give a bridge to the next chapter.**

Isabelle and Simon stood in the carnage that was Jace's room. The usually pristinely clean room was currently in major disarray. Clothes were strung all over the place, furniture was knocked over and in some cases shattered, and a couple of the windows had been smashed. The bathroom was in no better condition. The door looked to have been kicked in and the mirror like it had been punched multiple times.

Jace was not present at the moment; in fact he had been gone from the institute for the past few days. No one knew where he had gone or what he was doing. Everyone thought it was best to give him his space at first, but after 5 days of no communication Isabelle and Alec started to worry. Simon honestly couldn't care less if he saw Jace again, after all, it was his best friend's heart that was broken; but he agreed to help look for him for Isabelle's benefit.

They had decided to search his room for any clues as to where he may be, but it became blatantly obvious that there was nothing useful to be found.

"Oh Simon I'm so worried; he's been MIA for days. No note, no calls, nothing," she sat on the only clean part of the bed, "Simon, what if he's hurt, or worse, what if he's dead." Isabelle wasn't worried that someone else was hurting Jace; no, she was worried he was hurting himself.

Simon sat beside her, "don't worry Iz, It's harder for assholes to die. I'm sure Jace is alive and kicking, unfortunately."

Isabelle punched Simon in the arm, "Simon! Don't be so mean!"

Simon rubbed his arm, "I'm sorry Iz, but I'm a little pissed off at the guy right now. I understand that he's your brother, but Clary is my parabatai and best friend since six; I can practically feel her pain. And believe me Iz, she is hurting." Simon had to take a deep breath to calm down. Every time he thought about the whole situation, all he saw was the hurt in Clary's eyes and is riled him up.

Isabelle was fighting back tears, "I know Simon, but something is wrong with Jace; and I don't think it's a simple case of cold feet." She rested her head in her hands, "I don't think what he did was right; in fact I'm furious with him, but if something is wrong then I want to find him and help him." Her tears were flowing freely now.

Simon wrapped his arms around her and held her silently for a moment. The silence was short lived when Simon's phone buzzed loudly. He briefly mourned the lost moment between him and Isabelle and answered the phone.

Clary apprehensively entered the institute. She had called Simon an hour earlier trying to bribe him into bringing her some of her belongings, but her directions to where each item was were too confusing for even Simon to understand. He had told her Jace was out of the institute and would probably not be returning anytime soon. She decided clean clothes and her toiletries were worth the risk of running into Jace.

For the past week she had been wearing nothing but sweatpants and overly large t-shirts that were in Magnus' guest rooms. She didn't know where the clothing came from, or who it originally belonged to, but she was ready to start wearing her own clothes again. Magnus had agreed and accompanied her on the walk there. When they arrived at the institute Magnus headed to Taki's to meet up with Caterina, promising to be back in time to walk with her back to his apartment.

She took the elevator to the appropriate floor and headed towards her room. When she entered it she stopped for a moment to take in the familiar sights. Her desk, covered in paper, various colored pencils, and half completed drawings; her bed was neatly made, her favorite blanket folded neatly at the foot of it, she made a mental note to grab that on the way out; she needed as much personal comfort as possible.

As she continued to scan the room her gaze fell upon a packed suitcase sitting on her reading chair. She knew exactly what garments were in that suitcase; she and Isabelle had spent weeks picking out every outfit that she was going to wear during the two week honeymoon. She had also bought several pieces of lingerie just for the trip. She had left it in here because she and Jace had planned on changing clothes and portaling from here to Italy.

Italy was all they talked about the weeks leading up to the wedding; where they would go, what sites they would visit, the restaurants they wanted to try; it was all planned out. Clary felt tears pricking her eyes; she took a deep breath and calmed herself. She heard a door open and close down the hall. She peeked out of her room and saw Simon and Isabelle walking in her direction. Before she could decide if she was ready to face anyone, Simon caught sight of her.

"Clary!" It only took him a couple of strides to get to her, and he swept her into a firm hug. Without hesitation she wrapped her around him and matched his intensity in the hug. "Clary I am so glad to see you," he said, his face pressed into her hair.

Clary smiled and tightened the hug, "I'm so glad to see you too Simon."

They stayed like that for a long moment before Simon finally pulled back but kept her arms in his grasp. He examined her with a hint of worry in his eyes. She looked a little thinner and had dark circle under her eyes. He knew she had probably not been eating or sleeping much, but knew it was best not to push the subject.

Isabelle pushed Simon out of the way and pulled Clary into a hug of her own. When she pulled back her expression matched Simon's. Her eyes began to water, "Oh Clary, I am so sorry. I cannot believe what an asshole Jace is. I can understand why you would want to stay away from all of us."

Clary grabbed her friend's hand, "Izzy, you have nothing to be sorry for," she said sternly, "you are not the one who left me at the altar," her voice broke. She took a moment to collect herself, "Look I don't want there to be any issues between us; any of us," her gaze shifted back and forth between her two friends, "I am not staying at Magnus' to stay away from you guys; I just need to be somewhere that is not here for a bit. Maybe you guys can come visit me at Magnus'. I just want to get past this whole mess."

Simon smiled softly, "Clary we understand you just need a little space. Izzy and I are here for you no matter wha…" Simon was cut off by a loud noise coming from the elevator. The three of them exchanged confused looks before heading in the direction of the noise.

**Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think I love reading y'alls comments**


	11. The Suitcase

**AN: Yay I have over 100 followers!  
I hope you guys like this chapter. It was hard for me to figure out but I finally got it to work.  
Update: I have finally worked out how I will reveal what is going on with Jace; but everyone has to bear with me because it's gonna take a couple more chapters to set the whole thing up.  
Please let me know how you like this chapter; I love reading your reviews. **

When the door to the elevator opened Jace stumbled into the hall landing hard on the floor, "Damn it," he was usually a lot more graceful and tactic, but alcohol had a talented way of taking all that away. Alec exited the elevator and struggled to help him to his feet. "Ow…that…hurt," he slurred and broke into a fit of giggles.

"Damn it Jace, did you leave any alcohol in the bar?" Alec finally managed to get Jace to his feet and had him leaning against the wall. "Jace you look terrible. When is the last time you bathed?"

"You look terrible," Jace drunkenly retorted. He was wearing a white t-shirt that have various stains rage from alcohol, dirt, and what looked like dried blood. His hair was a tangled mess and the circles under his eyes had turned a dark shade of purple.

Alec had found him at a bar on the other side of town. According to the bartender Jace had been there the past 4 nights or so. He continued to pay for his drinks so he wasn't thrown out; and by the looks of it, he had drank quite a few drinks.

Alec pulled his friends arm around his shoulder and turned to make his way down the hall but halted at the sight in front of him.

* * *

Alec was surprised to see Clary; that much was obvious, but by the looks of it Jace hadn't seen her yet; that or he was too drunk to notice his surroundings. She, Simon, and Isabelle had arrived at the scene just as Alec was helping Jace off of the floor. Clary felt sorry for Alec having to deal with Jace in this state.

Isabelle ran over to help Alec with Jace, "Jace where have you been? It's been days!" Her voice was filled with worry and anger at the same time.

As she lifted his other arm around her shoulders he lifted his gaze from the floor. He looked at her and then he looked at Alec, "You guys are the best. You take really good…" Jace's view landed on Clary. It was as if the sight of her sobered him up, because he pulled his arms off of Alec and Isabelle and stood up straight with no assistance.

Clary felt exposed. Jace continued to look at her, barely breaking his gaze to blink. The air felt thick and it was becoming difficult to breathe. She wanted to run away. She did want him looking at her. Not like this. No one spoke. Alec, Isabelle, and Simon alternated between look at each other and looking at Jace and Clary.

Jace was the first one to break the deafening silence that filled the hall, "So…wh-what are you doing here," his slur was still there, but it was apparent that he was trying hard not to sound intoxicated.

Clary crossed her arm in front of her; she felt like she needed some sort of barrier between her and Jace, "I am here to get some of my stuff," her voice was just above a whisper.

A look of confusion flashed across Jace's face, but was soon replace by what could only be descried as fury, "You mean you are still staying with Magnus?" He didn't yell or shout, but his voice was stern and rough.

"Yes Jace, I am still staying with Magnus." Clary raised her voice a bit to match his intensity, "Nothing has changed."

"You can't just stay there Clary. You have to come back. We have to fix things. You can't just run and hide from this."

A burning rage built up in Clary's chest she knew that she was about to say all the wrong thing, but she didn't care, "Is that what you think I am doing?" she shouted, "you think I am running and hiding?" She walked forward until she was right in front of him, "I am not running or hiding from anything Jace. I am trying to get past the horrid thing _you_ did to me on what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. The only reason you want me back here is so that you can feel less guilty about hurting me. Look at you. You're playing the victim here. Gone for days, your family worried shitless while you what, drink yourself stupid? You are who said you didn't want to get married, Jace. Did you really think that I'd be fine and we could just pick up where we left off before the wedding? Did you really think that my heart wouldn't break? Are you so full of yourself that you believe you could do what you did and I would be powerless to leave you? Is that what you think?" Her face was wet with tears. She didn't even realize she had been crying. She didn't care.

Everyone was staring at Clary but decided it best not to say anything. Jace's face was unreadable. He didn't say anything, or even attempt to say anything. Before anyone could speak, Clary turned and headed to her room.

When she got inside she grabbed the packed suitcase knowing that it had all she required. She didn't care about anything but getting back to Magnus' and away from this mess. As she turned to leave she found her exit blocked by Simon. She looked up at him, tears once again threatening to spill. Without a word he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She dropped her suitcase and returned the gesture.

* * *

Clary let the tears flow. Her crying started off soft but soon became heavy and ragged. Soon the entire front of Simon's shirt was soaked; though he didn't seem to mind. After a few more moments, when her crying lessened, Simon finally spoke, "Clary, I know you need to leave; I know you can't stay here, and if I know you at all I know staying with your mom is out of the question; so I support your decision to stay at Magnus'; but I just want you to know that when you are ready, I am here for you, for whatever you need." He kissed the top of her head.

Clary felt a small smile form on her lips. She knew how much Simon cared for her. He had always been there for her and her for him. She knew that he would always be a constant in her life, and she would have it any other way. She hugged Simon even tighter, "I love you Simon," was all she said.

Finally, after another moment, they broke the hug. Clary did her best to dry her face of the tears and offered Simon an apologetic look for the state of his shirt.

Clary glanced around Simon, looking out into the hall, "Do you think he's still out there?" she asked with a small voice.

"Don't worry, he's not out there. He bolted as soon as you did; Alec and Izzy ran after him," Simon said.

"Clary let out a breath of relief, "Okay good. I don't think I can handle any more for tonight." She picked her suitcase off of the floor and headed to the door. Before she left she turned back to Simon, "Thank you Simon," she said with a smile

"Thank you for what?"

"For being the best friend I could ever hope to have. You promise you'll come see me a lot?"

"Don't be stupid, Clary," Simon chucked lightly, "It's not like you could actually keep me away. Now get out of here before Jace decides to return," he said more seriously.

Clary nodded and headed towards the elevator.


	12. Taki's

**AN: Okay you all, don't hate on me too much. This chapter was hard for me to write, but I finally got it down. I know that I will get a lot of backlash, and might lose a couple of reader, but I have to write this how it is coming to me. **

**On a side note, how many of you are excited about the cast of Shadowhunters? I cannot wait until next year! So far I am loving the cast picks. I know this is some people unhappy that Luke is going to be black, but if he can do the part well, why not?**

**So I hope you enjoy this chapter, please read and review. I love to head the feedback. **

The sun had begun setting as Jace walked down the street. He had left the institute to get away from the whole situation. He heard Alec and Isabelle chasing after him, but luckily he was quite a bit faster than them. He needed to go somewhere to clear his head. Somewhere that he could figure out what he was going to do next.

_Why did I do this to myself? Why was I so stupid?_ He thought to himself. Too many emotions were filling him at one time; anger, remorse, guilt, self-hatred, and fear. He didn't know how to filter all of this; it was too much. Clary hated him. He saw the look in her eyes. She was hurting and he was the cause. He fucked up big time. He deserved to feel this shitty.

He didn't want to go back to the institute; not right now; not with Clary there. _She'll never forgive me. _He didn't fully understand his action. He though he had had a great reason for calling the wedding off, but now he wasn't so sure if it was the right thing to do; not after seeing how much he hurt Clary. His thoughts were becoming more depressing. _She hates me. I deserve to be hated. What am I going to do? She is my world. She thinks I'm nothing but a bastard. _

He turned the corner and found himself in front of Taki's. He didn't know why he went inside; it was like his feet were leading him and his brain was just along for the ride. He made his way to the back corner booth and seated himself. He took out his phone and contemplated calling Clary to see if she would meet him there to talk things out. Maybe neutral territory would make it easier for the both of them. _But what would I say_? It felt like the more days that passed the less clear his thoughts were. He felt so sure he knew what to say last week, how to explain himself; but now he just felt confused.

Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the figure standing by him until they spoke, "Jace, are you okay?" He flinched slightly and looked up to find Annalisa Harthrowe with a pot of what looked like thick coffee. Without a word he returned his gaze to the table

Anna had taken Kaelie Whitewillow's place at Taki's when Kaelie became the Faerie representative for the Clave. Usually shadowhunters didn't work such jobs, but the Clave wanted to have eyes in all establishments that served Downworlders and shadowhunters.

Anna and her family were one of the two shadowhunter families that came to New York to expand the institute after the war; the Ashlands were the other family. Nathaniel Ashland was Alec's current boyfriend.

Jace didn't reply to Anna's question right away. How could one put into words how horrible he felt; how royally he fucked up; how he felt like his world would never feel the same without Clary?

Anna stood still for a moment. She made a move to leave but turned back around, "Look Jace, I know you don't know me as well as your other friends," her voice was soft, "but I wanted to let you know that if you ever need to talk I am here for you."

Again, he didn't reply immediately; he just stared at the table unblinkingly. As Anna made to walk away again Jace's hand shot up and wrapped around her wrist halting her movement. He lifted his gaze from the table and finally made eye contact with her; when he spoke his voice was barely above a whisper, "Please sit with me," he gently tugged her back to his table.

She slid in the booth beside him, setting the coffee pot on the table. Her wrist was still wrapped in Jace's hand; his grip was firm but not tight enough to cause discomfort. He maintained silence eye contacted with her for long moments. When he finally spoke his words were strained, "Why do I fuck up all the good in my life?"  
A flash of confusion washed over Anna's face, "Jace, don't talk so negatively about yourself. People make mistakes, and seeing as you saved the entire shadow world, I think you are entitled to a couple of mistakes." She placed her hand over his that was griping her wrist, "everything will work out; you and Clary will work things out. Give her just a little time. I am sure that she will hear you out after the smoke dies down."

Jace's eye widened, "You are the first person to not criticize or yell at me for what happened."

"Why would I criticize or yell at you? It's not my place. I think everyone deserves an opportunity to explain their side of the story. Even if to me it sounds stupid, to them it may be the most important thing ever. "

There was no explanation for why Jace did what he did next; he released Anna's wrist and reached up, weaving his fingers through her blonde hair; he eyes bore into hers. He pulled her towards her and pressed his lips to hers desperately. Anna did respond right away, but after a moment she returned the kiss. Jace's grip in her hair tightened as he used his other hand to pull her body closer to him. A small gasp escaped her lips; Jace took this opportunity to invade her mouth.

Anna wrapped her hands around his neck matching his tongue movements. His hand moved to her lower back coaxing her to move even closer to him. They drew ragged breaths in between kisses. Jace let his hand untangle from Anna's hair and cupped her cheek; his thumb softly caressed her skin.

When they finally broke their lips apart, Jace rested his for head against Anna's. Anna took in deep gulps of air trying to steady her breathing, "what was that?"

"I don't know," Jace's voice was shaky, "I don't even know how it happened." Again without thinking Jace grabbed Anna's face and pressed his lips to her once again.

**Chapter 13 is in progress. **


	13. Caught

**AN: Woot! Two chapters two days in a row. I know my last last chapter lost me some readers, but like I said I have to write this as it comes to me. I am working on Chapter 14 right now. Y'all will get to see some Sizzy and get a look at Alec and his new man Nathan.  
Please read and review. I hope you enjoy. **

Her heart stopped. Was she even breathing? The air rushed out of her body so fast she literally felt like dying. The sight of Jace pulling Anna into a kiss was the last thing Clary every expected to see.

Clary had left the institute and decided to head to Taki's to meet Magnus. She knew he was discussing business with Caterina and that her visit at the institute wasn't nearly long enough for him to be done yet.

As she had initially approached the diner she spotted Magnus and Caterina in a private booth at the front of the restaurant. They looked like they were pretty deep into their conversation. As Clary entered she scanned the space for a place to sit.

She didn't recognize the couple in the back booth at first. Her first thought was that they were a couple of young lovers ending their night with a steamy make-out session. Many teen shadowhunters and Downworlders used Taki's as a hook-up spot. She and Jace had ended many a night in that very booth. When her eyes swept back over the couple she froze finally realizing who the lip-lockers were.

The kiss they were sharing looked intense; she saw Jace pulling Anna closer to him kissing her in a way that he hadn't kissed Clary in a while. When their kiss had ended Clary felt a small sense of relief. _Maybe it was just a brief lapse in judgment_ she told herself, _he's come to his senses. She must have seduced or tricked him._ Her self-delusion shattered when she watched Jace pull Anna in for another heated kiss.

Clary vision started to blur and she felt herself sink to the floor.

A pair of arms scooped her up and moved her out of the diner. A familiar voice was speaking to her, "Clary, are you okay?" it was Magnus; his voice filed with concern, "Caterina, I'm going to take Clary home, I will see you tomorrow." There was a nonverbal reply from Caterina.

With that Magnus scooped Clary's legs up and effortlessly carried her towards his apartment. Clary wrapped her arms around Magnus' neck and let her tear spill out. She felt like that was the final nail in the coffin of her and Jace.

"Why did he do this to me Magnus?"

* * *

When the finally got back to the apartment, Clary was convinced Magnus to let her walk by herself. He reluctantly set her down and led the way upstairs. His blood was pounding in his ears and he was seeing red. Rage filled his entire being.

He had seen Jace, briefly, when he had entered Taki's; but he had paid him no mind figuring he was just there for a meal. His and Caterina's conversation had complete enveloped his attention. After a while he had seen Clary out of the corner of his eye.

She was pale and staring towards the back of the diner. His first instinct was that she had seen Jace and that alone caused her distress. It wasn't until he followed her line of vison to witness the scene she was currently enduring. Jace was full-on making-out with Anna the new waitress.

When Magnus looked back at Clary, he saw she was losing her standing. He quickly got up and made his way to her side to get her out of there.

He didn't understand what was wrong with Jace. Why would he betray the one person who was there for him that whole time? Why would he hurt her in such an awful way? _If Clary was mine I'd never hurt her like that_. Whoa. Where did that thought come from? Magnus shook his head. He couldn't think like that.

He unlocked the door and they both entered in silence. Clary seated herself in the chair she had claimed as hers since the first night she slept in it. They had had many playful debates about whose chair that was. Magnus arguing that since it was in fact his apartment it was his chair. Clary would always retort with some childhood rhyme like, 'you snooze you lose', or 'finders keepers losers weepers'.

A brief smile passed over Magnus' lips of the thoughts of their playful banter; but it was gone the moment he looked back at Clary's grief-stricken face. He headed to the kitchen and made them both some tea.

When he returned to the living room he thought he'd find Clary asleep; she had been so quiet. Instead he was awake, staring into the distance, her knees pull to her chest. He sat down on the couch adjacent to her chair and set their cups of tea down on the coffee table. He then conjured up a plate of cookies.

A small giggle escaped Clary's mouth. Magnus looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "My dear little shadowhunter, are you laughing at me?" There was a tinge of amusement in his voice.

Clary smiled softly, "I just find it funny, you always make your tea, and you have made some killer meals since I've been here, but you still have to conjure up cookies."

Magnus returned her smile, "Well, for your information," he said with a sarcastic undertone, "These cookies are from a little bakery in France. I know the owner and she make, by far, the best chocolate chip and walnut cookies." He lifted the plate to her gesturing for her to take one.

Clary grabbed one of the cookies and took a small bite. She smiled at Magnus to convey her approval; but then her smile faltered and she suddenly looked a million miles away.

Magnus knew what she was thinking about; and he knew better than to ask if she was okay. He got up and headed back into the kitchen and started gathering together the classic heartbreak food: chips, candy, and ice cream. He knew a distraction was exactly what she needed right now. Something to keep her from thinking about Jace; at least until she was ready to talk about him.

He headed back into the living room with his bounty, "So biscuit tell me, what kind of movie are you in the mood to watch?"


	14. Sizzy

**AN: Okay here is a little Sizzy for you. Also you get to see a different side to Alec. I am hoping to giving some insight to Jace's reason in the next chapter.  
****Please read and review.**

Simon followed Isabelle and Alec back to Isabelle's room. Clary had just left and Isabelle and Alec had returned after chasing after Jace.

"Well, that was intense," Alec broke the silence first. He took a seat in Isabelle's lounge chair, "Do you think they will ever work this out?"

Isabelle and Simon sat beside each other on Isabelle's bed, "Do you think you and Magnus could work things out?" Isabelle asked; her tone was harsher than she intended.

Alec's jaw dropped at the question, "I…Izzy, you know that this is not the same kind of situation," his tone was defensive.

Isabelle stood up placing her hands on her hips; her voice was stern, "No? I'd say it's pretty similar. You broke up with Magnus out of the blue; you gave no reasons as to why. Hell, I'm still not convinced that you didn't just leave him for Nathan."

"I didn't!" Alec protested, "I have my reasons, but I don't have to make you aware of them." His Hands were gripping the arms of the chair.

Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest, "Did you at least make it clear to Magnus why you ended it?"

"He knows why."

"Really, because if I'm not mistaken you ran off with Nathan right after dumping Magnus. Didn't he run in and try to save you and then you left with him? That couldn't have been the best feeling for Magnus; and then to later find out that the two of you started dating…that usually screams ulterior motives for a break-up."

Alec glared at his sister, "What you don't trust me Izzy? You really think so low of me? That I couldn't be honest with Magnus? Well Izzy, I did tell him the truth. I told him that I didn't think we would work out for the long term." Alec's voice softened, "I want someone that I can grow old with; someone that isn't 800 years older than me, but in 10 to 20 years will make me look like a cradle-robber. I want someone who isn't going to move on and fall in love with someone else once I am dead," Alec's voice waivered on the last sentence.

Isabelle expression softened and her arms dropped to her sides. She moved to sit on the arm of the lounge, "Alec, why didn't you tell me this?"

"Because, I didn't want to hear any long speeches about how if we love each other it'll all work out," He stood from his chair, "because this isn't going to work out. I'm going to grow old and die, or, if I live the life of a true shadowhunter, I'll die before I'm 30. And sure, maybe he won't move on right away, but eventually he will; and I don't want to know how many loves of his life he'll have after me. It's inevitable." He was now pacing around the room, "I want someone that I can experience all parts of life with. Honestly, do you think it would work with Magnus if I made it to 50 but he still looked 19?"

No one said anything.

Alec continued, "No Izzy, I didn't like breaking Magus' heart; it was one of the worst thing I have ever had to do," his voice started to shake, "but it had to happen. I would never be fully happy staying with Magnus. There would always be that part of me that would wonder about the future, no matter how hard I tried not to," He sat down on the end of the bed, "Believe me or not Iz, Nathan makes me happy, and I just really want to be happy."

Isabelle sat down next to her brother, "I'm sorry Alec. I should know that you have your reasons; I just wish you would have confided in me sooner so I could have defended you better."

"Alec smiled at his Isabelle, "Thanks Izzy." He stood up, "Well, I think I'm going to head out. Today has been just a bit too much for me." With that he kissed his sister on top of her head and gave a friendly nod to Simon and made his exit.

* * *

After Alec left Simon looked over at his girlfriend. The sad look etched on her face made his heart hurt. He knew she felt bad for being so angry at her brother. She had spent many nights cursing about how wrong Alec was for the way he left Magnus. She had hated how Magnus stopped coming around, and how it seemed like he didn't even want to see Izzy just because of her connection to Alec.

He patted the bed beside him, prompting Isabelle to crawl over to him. He immediately grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap, her legs straddling either side of him. He cupped her face and pulled her into kiss. It started out soft, but quickly grew passionate. His hands pulling her body as close to his as possible.

He trailed soft kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Soft moans escaped her mouth. Simon's hands were devilishly working their way under her shirt; his hands began to caress her soft skin. Isabelle began to grind against him only intensifying his need to be closer to her.

He grabbed her waist and rolled to two of them over so she was lying on her back and he was between her legs. He made quick work of removing her shirt followed by her bra and tossed them to the floor. He took a moment and looked over Isabelle completely, "Beautiful," his voice was breathy.

Starting at her stomach, he slowly and torturously he kissed and nipped his way up. Which each little bite her hips would buck into him; this caused him to bite a little more and a little harder each time. Isabelle's hands threaded through his hair urging him to move up faster. When he finally made it back to Isabelle's lips she desperately held on to him, refusing to let him wander anywhere else.

Simon pulled her up to a sitting position and he stood up from the bed without breaking their kiss. He started to remove his jeans and a moment later Isabelle followed suit removing the rest of her clothing garments. Simon finally had to break the kiss to remove his shirt but returned to Isabelle's lips the moment he could.

Simon reluctantly broke contact one more time; he went to the bedroom door and locked it for safe measure and returned to where Isabelle was waiting for him. He removed his final article of clothing and got back on the bed, pulling his very sexy girlfriend under the covers with him.

**Chapter 15 in the works.**


	15. Nathaniel Ashland

**AN: Okay so I know I said this chapter would contain part of Jace's reasoning, but I had to extend it to the next chapter. This chapter is mainly AlecxNathan. I hope you enjoy. Please read and review :)  
I have been asked if this is going to be a ClaryxMagnus. I will be honest, it will has at least a temp ship of those two, but I honestly don't know how the whole story will end.**

When Alec had finally gotten back to his apartment he was feeling the full effects of the stress of the day. He had scoured the city looking for Jace. Yes he was a bit angry at Jace for the scene he put on on the day of his wedding; but he trusted that Jace had a reason. Jace loved Clary, and he would never _want _to hurt her, but something _was _going on with him; they just needed to wait until he was ready to talk.

Alec entered his apartment immediately locking it behind him. The lights were on throughout the apartment letting Alec know that Nathan was home. They didn't officially live together, but Nathan was there about a little over half the time so Alec decided that he should have his own key.

The delicious smell in the air indicated to Alec that Nathan had cook chicken parmesan; one of Alec's favorites for Nathan to make. Since Alec got his own apartment Nathan would come over every night to make him dinner; even if he didn't stay the night.

Nathaniel Ashland and his family had moved to New York right after the Dark War. Many families had been moved around to make up for the losses sustained at the other institutes. Nathan's parents were being trained by Alec's mom so that they could help at the other institutes. Along with Nathan and his parents, Nathan's younger older sister and younger brother moved into the institute.

When Alec had first met Nathan he didn't think much of him. He was a quiet guy and a year older than Alec; however he was a very dedicated shadowhunter. Alec would find him in training room several times a day; he had excellent form and technique. Alec had decided to start training with him to improve is own form. Most of the time they didn't speak other than the odd 'good job' or 'next stance'.

Once day during training, during their water break, Nathan broke the silence, "So this may sound strange, but I uh, wanted to thank you." His voice was deep, but somehow soft at the same time.

Alec finished swallowing his water and smiled, "No problem. I need the training too so I figured we could help each other out."

Nathan's brow furrowed, "Um, that's not what I was talking about. I mean I like train with you and am grateful for the chance to train with someone as skilled as you, but that's not what I was thanking you for." He looked really nervous, which was weird to see on him.

He wasn't a small guy; he was of medium, muscular build and about Alec's height; he had dirty-blonde hair that always looked like he had just crawled out of bed and dark green eyes. Alec could admit that Nathan was handsome, but he was very much in love with Magnus.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What did you mean?" Alec asked.

Nathan shrugged, "Well, you remember when you came out to your parents and the Clave when you and your boyfriend made that whole big scene when you kissed him back in Idris?"

Alec nodded and continued to listen.

"Well, you see, up until then I had been scare of what I had been feeling inside; you know liking guys instead of girls. I know it's stupid to say, but I was honestly afraid that my parents would disown me or the Clave would cast me out. I had kept it all to myself for years, and I even tried to date some girls to see if maybe that would fix me. It wasn't until I witnessed how your family accepted you and how much you and your boyfriend loved each other that I realized there was nothing wrong with me. Because of you I was finally able to accept myself. So thank you."

Alec did say anything; he was shocked that he coming to acceptance with himself had helped someone else find acceptance too. He never thought that he could affect someone in such a way. To him he was just doing what he felt he needed to do.

When Alec didn't reply right away Nathan continued, "I was still scared you know, to come out to my parents. I still thought they'd hate me or report me to the Clave; but I thought that if you could do it and you're under the public eye, then I can do it. Surprisingly my dad had no problems with it; my mom however, she was a bit sad. She wanted me to marry a beautiful and give her grandchildren," Nathan chuckled, "It was actually kind of funny how worked up she got. My dad calmed her down though and then she told me she'd love me no matter what. I would have never had the courage though, if it weren't for you."

Alec felt his heart warm. What Nathan was telling him was that he changed someone's life completely. Alec had finally found his voice, "Nathan, I am so happy that you were able to be true to yourself. I honestly didn't think I made a difference in anyone's life, but I'm glad I was such a positive influence for you."

They had started talking more after that day. They would train, but it was more like they were bonding and not just using each other as target practice. Of course Alec didn't mean to start feeling things for Nathan; it just happened. The more they talked about the future and their plans for what was next, the more Alec thought about him and Magnus.

Magnus was immortal; he was going to remain the same physically while Alec grew older every year. Everyone thought that Nathan had something to do with Alec's decision, but in reality, Alec made his choice all his own. His desires had become clearer to him and as hard as it would be for him, he needed to end it with Magnus. He needed give them both a chance to find their own futures.

Alec also knew that everyone thought he left Magnus and moved right on to Nathan; this was also not true. It took a while for Alec's heart to get over Magnus. Many times he thought he made the worse decision in the world, but he knew that he would have stayed with Magnus he would have begun to resent the relationship.

He wanted more than that. He wanted Magnus to have more than that. In fact he tried to make Magnus hate him so it would be easier for him to get over their relationship. He didn't like hurting him he just needed to do what was right for him.

He and Nathan didn't start dating until almost a year later; and while he knew everyone was rooting against their relationship, he was truly happy and would not let anyone make him feel bad for feeling that way.

As Alec rounded the corner to the kitchen he removed his various weapons from their hidden holsters. When he got to Nathan, who was currently messing with some marinara sauce, he grabbed him by the waist and turned him around, "Hey you miss me?" he asked and then pulled him in for a kiss; parting his lips he welcomed Nathan's tongue to meet his own.

"Keep kissing me like that and dinner will burn," Nathan said when they finally parted.

Alec smiled, "I think I could live with that." Just as he was about to pull his boyfriend in for another kiss he heard a knock at the door. Alec frowned, "You stay right here. You are not off the hook yet," he playfully pointed a stern finger at Nathan.

Alec turned to head to the door; just as he was reaching to open it he heard another desperate knock. As the door opened he saw a very distressed Jace standing on the porch.

"Jace? What the hell happened?" Alec moved to the side to let Jace in.

Jace was running his fingers through his hair so forcefully it looked like he was about to pull it all out; his face was tensed with stress, "I fucked up Alec, I fucked up big time." His voice was shaking and he was pacing back and forth.

"Jace, calm down I'm sure we can fix whatever it is that happened."

"No no no no no you don't understand, I royally fucked things up beyond explanation; beyond repair. I don't think Clary will forgive me. Ever."

**So far this has been my favorite chapter to write. I do hope y'all enjoy it too. **


	16. Jace's Why

**AN: Whoo I finally got this chapter done! Okay I tried my best to make it make sense, but it's kind of the point of this chapter to be a little all over the place. I might rewrite it a bit, but I am kinda happy with it's haphazardness. ****I hope you all enjoy, please read and review.**

**Side note:****This is in the entirety of Jace's excuse, this is just the base of it.**

Jace couldn't sit; he couldn't even stand still. He was pacing around Alec's apartment; his heart felt like it was going to pop out of his chest. He knew he'd fucked up his life before, but now there was no get Clary back. What the hell was he thinking? Why would he kiss another girl at all, let alone do it in a very public place that his friends regularly visited? He told Alec what happened.

In that moment at Taki's, when Anna was comforting him, something in his brain took over. He'd already messed up what he had with Clary; why not complete destroy any chance of fixing it? He had made the first move and pulled Anna into the kiss; and he and pulled her into the second kiss. He wanted to stop thinking and just feel, so he did the first

Of course all actions come with consequence. His was no exception. He pulled out of the second kiss with Anna just in time to see Magnus pulling Clary out of the diner pick her up and carry her off. Jace knew that moment what she had seen. The guilt and regret flooded in. He quickly got out of the booth not even bothering to help Anna off of the floor from where he pushed her out of the booth.

He could hear her calling out to him, but he ignored her as ran out of Taki's. He had to think fast; should he go after Clary and beg for forgiveness or give her the space she would most definitely want now. He started walking in the direction Magnus went, intending to grovel and plead for Clary to hear him out; but somehow he found himself on the way to Alec's apartment. Maybe subconsciously he needed his parabatai.

"I guess since I've already fucked my life up completely, what's one more fuck up?" He finally fell to the couch, "It's not like Clary would ever forgive me for stopping wedding anyway. I don't know what I was thinking Alec," Jace's voice was desperately strained. He was greatly fighting back the urge to break down and cry, "Anna was the first person I who…I mean I felt she was not judging me for my stupid decision."

"I didn't judge you," Alec interjected.

"Yes you did," Jace retorted, "You and Izzy; everyone was, and rightly so. What I did was stupid and selfish and could have been completely avoided."

Alec sat down next to Jace, "Can you please tell me what happened at the wedding? You are like my brother, and I want to understand and be on your side, but I can't if you don't tell me why you did what you did."

Jace stood back up abruptly, "No Alec, you shouldn't be on my side; you should be angry with me for the way I behaved," he began pacing again. "I'm not happy with my actions Alec. I honestly don't even know why I allowed things to go as far as they did." He ran his fingers through his hair again, "The wedding should have never happened. I wasn't ready. I knew I wasn't ready; everyone knew I wasn't the marrying type. Every person I ran into the days leading up to the wedding _had_ to mention something along the lines of how they never imagined me getting married," he finally stopped pacing and on the coffee table in front of Alec, "I think I wanted to be with Clary so badly that I deluded myself into believing that once we were married, once it was done, everything would be fine; everything would work itself out."

Alec looked thoroughly confused, "I don't understand Jace, why did, I mean do you feel like this? I thought you loved Clary and wanted to spend the rest of your life with her? At least that is the impression I have been under."

"I do!" Jace said, maybe a little too loud. Lowering his voice he continued, "I love Clary. She is the first girl I have ever felt this way towards," a look of unease flashed across his face, "but I'm not ready for marriage. I've had a feeling building in me for a while now that has been telling me that I'm not ready to marry. That if I marry Clary it'll be the biggest mistake I could make; not because of Clary, but because of me. I would eventually ruin everything that is good about her. The feeling started out weak, but it got stronger over time. I know I could have and should have picked a time before the wedding to tell her, but I was overwhelmed. The planning and the running around and the constant hordes of people surrounding us; I never got a chance to think."

"What changed things?" Alec's voice was quiet and non-judgmental sounding.

Jace thought for a moment. He didn't know how to put his thoughts into words. He took a deep breath, "You know how we were apart for two day? Well at first I was still on the wedding wave; I had Maryse and Izzy telling me what to do, where to go, and what time to be where. On the night before the wedding I finally came to the conclusion that I couldn't do this; not just for me but for Clary. If I married her, if I went through with the wedding, we would be bonded, permanently; and if I was unhappy being married I know that I would act out and cause issues in our marriage; I would resent her and she would resent me."

"How come you didn't try to tell her any of this?" Alec asked curiously.

"Do you think I did?" Jace's voice sounded a bit harsh, "I tried to call her that instant; her phone was off. I tried to leave to go see her, but Izzy had locked me in my room and taken my steel; I attempted to call her and you but no one seemed to have the time to answer my calls. Short of jumping out of the 4th floor I tried everything I could that night. I had planned to find her immediately the next morning, but I didn't get the chance. Everyone was shuffling me from one place to another; no one was listening to anything I had to say. Before I knew it I was at the altar, waiting for Clary to make her way down the aisle. All I could think was 'this is my last chance before there is no turning back'. I couldn't go through with it. I had to do what I felt I needed to do."

Alec said nothing. The silence was piercing.

Jace stood up once again, "Look I know that nothing I say excuses my actions. I am not looking for redemption; that chance is long gone, but I need someone to understand why; why I did what I did, why I fucked up the best thing I had."

Alec stood, joining Jace at his height, "but I don't understand Jace; why _did_ you do it? Why did you feel like you aren't ready for marriage? You purposed to Clary, not the other way around. So why, if you are so certain that you are not ready, did you even launch the whole thing? And furthermore, you two were engaged for 6 months; why in the hell did it take you 6 months to figure this out? I wish I could understand Jace, I really do, but this just doesn't make sense."

Jace's blood began to boil at Alec's words, "I don't know what to tell you Alec!" he shouted, "I guess I'm just doomed to screw everything good in my life up!" He started for the door.

Alec tried to stop him, "Jace wait, I'm not trying to fight you; I just want to understand."

As Jace got to the door he looked back at Alec, "You'll never understand, because I don't even understand." With that he exited the apartment slamming the door behind him.

**Chapter 17 in the works. **


	17. Magnus' New Interest

**AN: Hey everyone! I wanted to get this chapter out yesterday, but we found out that we are going to be searching for a new apartment soon. I promise to keep updating as much as possible, but forgive me if there are some gaps between chapters. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please read and review.**

Two weeks had gone by since Clary had witnessed Jace's make-out session. During the first week she had stayed secluded in the apartment refusing to answer her phone for anyone but her mother. She had reluctantly told her mom what happened at Taki's. She didn't want to share this information with anyone, but she didn't like to keep things from her mom; especially after she told her she wouldn't keep her in the dark about what was going on. Surprisingly her mom didn't linger on the sore subject too long; she muttered a couple profanities about Jace then changed the topic to her fast approaching due date.

This week she felt a little better; she didn't feel happy per se, but she did feel a lot less depressed. She had even managed to return to her morning runs for the last couple of days. Running had been a great outlet for her emotions. That's what she was doing now; she was finishing up her last lap around the block as the sun was just starting to rise and people were starting their morning routines.

She had made it back to the apartment and started with the rest of her _own_ morning routine. After starting the coffee maker, she headed to her room and began to strip her sweaty garments off throwing them in the hamper. She securely wrapped a towel around herself and headed to the bathroom.

On her way she made a detour to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. As she was replacing the pot on the warmer she heard the front door shut. She turned around and found Magnus on the other side of the counter. "Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

She noticed he had the usual amount of glitter in his hair that accented the glitter in his black jeans; he had finished off his outfit with a tight purple graphic tee. Clary was always interested to see what Magnus wore day to day.

Magnus smirked, "Well, I do believe I live here little shadowhunter."

Clary put her hands on her hips, "You know that's not what I meant. You usually spend your mornings with Caterina or clients; it's only 6:00am How come you're home so early?"

"No more clients today," he made his way into the kitchen and grabbed himself a mug, "and Caterina is out of town for the rest of the week." He poured his coffee and prepared it to his taste.

Since Clary had been living here she had picked up on Magnus' routine. He was typically gone in the mornings from 5:00am until 11:00am. This usually guaranteed that she would have those hours to herself to do what she pleased in the apartment. Usually she just blasted her music or watched sappy love stories that were guaranteed to make her cry. After he got home they would have lunch, typically something he made; a couple of times they ordered out, but she was growing fond of Magnus' cooking, he was a talented chef. In the afternoons Magnus would get random visitors to the apartment; some he would see, some he would turn away. During this time she usually busied herself with studying the various books he had until it was dinnertime where he would once again showcase his talents in the art of food-making.

So far weekends had been spent lounging around watching TV or they would have endless conversations over a variety of topics. Clary found that she and Magnus had a lot of similar interests; art, traveling, food.

Clary took a sip of her coffee as she watched Magnus. "So you're home for the day?"

"Yep," he smiled, "don't be too heart broken," he teased.

She playfully hit him on the shoulder, "Shut up, you know I love hanging out with you." It was true; she felt much better when he was around. The fact that he had seen her in her worst moments made her feel like she could be completely herself around him and he wouldn't judge her.

After a moment Magnus finally broke the silence, "So hey are you forgetting something?" he asked gesturing to the towel Clary was currently still wearing.

"Oh shit. Yeah, I should go take my shower," she laughed. Setting down her coffee she headed towards the bathroom.

Magnus watched the Clary as she made her way to the bathroom as he leaned against the kitchen counter. He had been trying to keep his thoughts about her pure and good, but the more he spent time with her the more he found that he had an undeniable attraction to her.

True he had been around her when she was a child, but the fact was she had grown up. She blossomed from an awkward adolescent into the strong woman she was now. She was a dedicated shadowhunter and one most loyal people he had ever met. He'd watched her fight fearlessly for a world she didn't knew nothing about; a world she had been ruthlessly thrown into. She had handled all of it better than anyone would have expected her to.

He also couldn't discount the fact that she was very attractive. She was on the shorter side but had curves that killed. Since she started training she had built up some muscles, but didn't get bulky; and he had always loved her wildly curly hair. He now wondered what it would be like to thread his fingers through it.

He stood up and shook his head clear of his wondering thoughts; he knew nothing would come of them. Instead he started rummaging through his cabinets and refrigerator gathering ingredients for his newest idea.

When Clary had reemerged from the bathroom she was once again wrapped in a towel. Magnus did his best to keep his eyes averted, but it was impossible to do so when she was walking towards him.

"Mm it smells good out here," she said, smelling the air, "what's all this for?" She asked gesturing to the various plates of food on the table.

Magnus finally looked up from bacon he was currently cooking, but made sure to look at only her face, "I figured we could have breakfast and enjoy some _awful_ daytime TV," he offered with a smile. He took a moment to admire the way her damp curls fell around her face. She really was an exquisite beauty.

Clary returned the smile, "That sounds fun. I'll go get dressed."

Magnus turned his attention back to the bacon on the stove.

The two of them had spent the rest of the morning in various positions on the couch watching random court and drama-filled reality shows. They had finally ended up with Clary on Magnus' left side leaning her head on his shoulder and draping her legs over his lap and they were currently watching a very _dramatic_ episode of Maury; baby-daddy and cheating cases.

Magnus could tell that some of the cheating stories were starting to bug her so he decided to change the channel to a news station.

Clary let out a quiet sigh, "Thank you," she said, "I never realized that I'd be in any kind of position like the women on that show."

Magnus lifted his had to her face and tucked some of her curls behind her ear, "My dear little shadowhunter," his voice was soft, "you will get past this. Whether you and Jace kiss and make-up or you both go your separate ways, this stage of your life is just temporary, and so is the pain you feel. It won't last forever. As terrible as they are, these painful experiences have to happen to us; they lead us down the paths we are meant to go." He stroked her cheek with his thumb, "Maybe all this happened because you and Jace needed to travel different paths."

"I guess so. It just sucks that my life feels like it's been turned upside down."

His fingertips lingered on her skin for a moment as he got lost in her incredibly green eyes. "Yeah, I understand; we get used to how thing are and hate when everything changes. On the bright side," his voice perked up a little, "you've got me as a most awesome roommate."

This had caused a big grin to spread across Clary's face. She playfully shoved him, "you're so full of yourself," she said jokingly.

He didn't know what came over him in that moment, maybe seeing her genuinely smile made the built up urges he had been having the past couple of weeks finally take over, but without thinking he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.


	18. I Wanted to

**AN: Here we go. I finally got this chapter done. Sorry for the wait.  
Side notes: To those of you who are upset that the is no Clace going on or are wondering when Clace is going to happen, I have said from since chapter 4 or so that this may be a Clary/Magnus story. If you don't like it don't read it. Unlike some of the commentators, I do not view Magnus as an uncle or a dad to Clary.  
For those who continue to read I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know what you think. **

Clary must have lost herself for a moment, because she didn't pull back right away. For just a moment she relaxed against Magnus' lips almost returning the kiss. When she came back to reality she broke the kiss and looked Magnus in the eye.

She couldn't explain why, but her heat was racing in her chest, "Wh…what…why?" She couldn't manage forming a sentence right now; all she could process was that Magnus had just kissed her.

Magnus pulled Clary's legs off him and stood up from the couch, his face masked with embarrassment, "I..I am s..so sorry Clary. I do not know w..what came over me." He stumbled over his words terribly. Before Clary could respond, Magnus made a quick exit, shutting himself in his room.

Clary sat still for a moment, confused, as she thought about what just happened. Magnus had just kissed her; out of the blue with no warning-well, not warning that she saw. It's not that she hated the fact that he kissed her; in fact part of her wanted to return the kiss. She just didn't understand where the action came from. Magnus had seemed embarrassed by his action. She had never seen Magnus look embarrassed about anything.

After another moment of quiet contemplation she decided to take action.

Getting up from her spot on the couch made her way to his bedroom door. She knocked on it, "Magnus?" There was no answer. She tried the doorknob and to her amazement it was unlocked. She slowly opened the door.

Magnus' room was exactly what you would expect it to be; dramatic. There was an old style, four-poster bed coming out from the far corner. The bed silk sheets and sheer curtains were various shades of purples and reds all with hints of shimmer. The room wasn't dark, but it wasn't light either. The dark wood of the bedframe was in perfect contrast with the off-white area rug that took up most of the floor. A dark brass crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room giving off a soft glow of light.

Clary made her way into the room sweeping her gaze around until it landed of her 'Waldo'. Magnus was sitting on his bed, his head resting against the headboard of his bed. As she made her way to him she noticed that along with his bed his room housed a dresser, chest of drawers, and a wardrobe, all matching the bedframe. The pieces gave the room an almost Victorian feeling.

When she reached finally reached him she found that his eyes were closed, but he was completely aware of her presence, "Hi biscuit," he said in barely a whisper. He hadn't even opened his eyes to confirm where she was in the room.

Without a prompt from Magnus, Clary climbed onto the bed and sat right in front of him leaning back on her hands. When he lifted his head and opened his eyes Clary made sure to make direct eye contact with him. Neither of them spoke right away; the just looked at each other. Surprisingly, to Clary, the silent eye contact was not uncomfortable; on the contrary, she found a lot of comfort in Magnus' gaze. She had found that she could read his emotion through them; most people didn't realize this because they were too distracted by his cat-like eyes.

After several minutes of silence clary decided the mood in the room needed to change. She had scooched a little closer to him; her crossed legs bumped his bent ones. She smiled and leaned forward resting her chin on his knees.

A soft smile played on Magnus' lips. In response to her action he too leaned forward moving his face right in front of hers, "My little shadowhunter; I believe you have a question for me?" His voice was deep and smooth.

Clary's voice was quiet, "Why did you kiss me?" There was no surprise or shock on Magnus' face. She knew that he was expecting that question; it was to be expected, after all he _had_ kissed her.

Magnus' smile didn't waiver, but he did have a hint of nervousness in his eyes. After a moment of thought he simply responded, "Because I wanted to."

She didn't know if he'd fully relay his reasons but thought that she wouldn't know if she didn't ask, "Why did you want to kiss me?"

Magnus sat up, but maintained eye contact with her. She followed his lead and sat up too allowing him to cross his legs like her. She could tell he was thinking a mile a minute; his eyes held a serious look in them meaning he was carefully choosing his words. She waited patiently while he went through his process.

Letting out a deep breath he finally spoke, "You, Clary Fray, are the most intriguing shadowhunter I have met in a long time. You grew up knowing only the mundane world, but you excelled passed every expectation when you were throw into the shadow world. You defied possibilities and even shadowhunter logic. You saved an entire world that you had known for only a few months, and you did it because to _you_ it was the right thing to do. You fought for what was right; not just for the shadowhunters but also for us downworlders. That doesn't include how incredibly beautiful you are and how with just a smile you can melt a guy's heart." He leaned forward again and cupped her cheek with his hand, "How could one not fall for you, such as I have, and want to know what your lips feel like on their own lips?"

Clary felt her jaw drop. Magnus had just told her he fallen for her. Her stomach gave a little lurch. She had found Magnus attractive, but had pushed all those thoughts aside a while ago. She had been with Jace and he had been with Alec. The thought of whether or not he found her attractive in any way had never crossed her mind; but now it was out there. He _did_ find her attractive; and he was falling for her.

Clary felt his hand leave her face, but she grabbed it before he got it back to his lap. She pulled his hand back up to her face and leaned her cheek into his palm. His skin was soft. She'd never met a guy who took care of their skin like he did. He didn't do it because he was feminine; in fact, Magnus was quite masculine; he just liked to confuse people. There was so much of him that people didn't see either because they didn't want to see it or they didn't look properly.

Clary moved to her knees while simultaneously moving closer to Magnus. His hand had moved back to his lap and he was looking at her with a questioning gaze. Before he could ask her anything she leaned forward and tentatively kissed him. She could hear his breathing hitch slightly.

When she pulled back Magnus looked as confused as she had felt before. He was moving his mouth but no words were coming out. When he had finally found his voice he asked, "Why did you kiss me?"

Clary smiled, "Because I wanted to" she answered in a matter of fact tone.

Before either of them could say anything else Magnus laced his fingers through her hair and pulled her in for another kiss; this time she gladly returned the gesture.


	19. Confession in the Library

**Hey everyone. Sorry about the wait, I was almost discouraged from continuing because I was getting some not so nice messages. But I decided to push past the negative and continue to write. This chapter is kind of a bridge to chapter 20. Forewarning, chapter 20 is going to be another drama-filled chapter. Some of you might want to stop reading after ch20 but I ask you to please sick with it. I have a plan I swear; it just may take a little time to build to.  
****Well I'll let you get to it. Hope you enjoy.**

"You did what?"

"How could you?"

"Have you absolutely no regard for Clary's feelings at all?"

"And to think I actually tried to understand. I thought it was just a terrible misjudgment on your part; I can see that I was grossly wrong; you're just cruel and stupid."

Simon and Isabelle had been tag-team berating Jace.

Alec let Jace stay with him for the past couple of weeks but had finally brought him back to the institute where he had told Isabelle and Simon about what had happened at Taki's. Simon had looked ready to kill him when he found out about Anna. Isabelle didn't look too far behind him.

"Why the hell would you make out with another girl? In a public place? Where we all go? Are you fucking stupid?" Isabelle never cursed, but when she did it was a sign that she was full blown angry and she'd take no responsibility for what she did or said. "You have to be out of your fucking mind to think that anything you have done in these past weeks is remotely okay."

Jace knew they would be angry; murderous even; but there was another look in their eyes too; one that was far worse than anger. They were horribly disappointed in him.

"Do you even understand the damage you have caused? The rift you have caused in this family?" Isabelle continued.

He couldn't fathom exactly what they were feeling towards him. He knew Alec's feelings towards him were just above complete loathing. He knew Alec could sense his anguish; but Isabelle and Simon couldn't. They couldn't tell that he was just as angry, disappointed, and disgusted with himself as they were with him. He felt like jumping off of the institute roof to be completely honest; but he knew that would only cause more problems that would be his fault.

"Are you even listening to me right now?" Isabelle's angry voice cut into his thoughts.

He looked at her, "if you mean am I listening to you tear my ass a new one, then yes, I hear you."

"How do you expect Clary to ever forgive you?"

Jace stood from his place on the couch and stared to pace the library. "I don't know Izzy. I thought maybe begging, groveling, maybe even a little self-deprecation might be a good start."

"Be serious Jace!"

"I am serious Izzy. I don't know what to do. I fucked up, okay. I fucked up the best thing in my life and I don't know if I'll ever get it back. I have caused her pain and all of you pain, not to mention embarrassing everyone in front of the entire shadowhunter community." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I just wish I could go back and fix it."

Isabelle walked towards him with her arms crossed over her chest. When she spoke her words were venomous, "Well you can't. You royally screwed up and I highly doubt she'll even talk to you again." She turned and walked quickly out of the library; Simon followed behind her not even bothering with a second look toward Jace.

Jace looked at Alec; he hadn't said a word since they got there. He had hung back and let the three of them duke it out. He was currently sitting on one of the solid wood desks with an unreadable look on his face. "They're right you know; I'll never even be able to tell her how sorry I am because she is never going to want to talk to me."

"Does that mean you are not even going to try?" Alec questioned.

Jace straightened his back, "Of course I'm going to try. I'm going to make every effort I possibly can. Maybe she'll see that I realize how horribly I fucked up. Maybe, just maybe I can at least get her to hear me out."

Alec looked at him as if he had just sprouted a purple horn in the middle of his forehead. "And what in the hell are you going to tell her; that you got an extreme case of cold feet? Honestly you better figure out what you're going to say to her if she gives you this magical chance. You have to be able to tell her what was going on in head of yours." Alec stood up from the desk, "I know Clary has forgiven you for your misgivings in the past, but stopping her wedding and then publicly making out with another girl only a week later may be a bit much for her to forgive."

Jace fell back to the couch and buried his face in his hands. "I know I know; but what if I don't fully understand why I did what I did? What if I'm confused of my own actions?"

Alec took a seat next to him. "Well it looks like you're going to have a lot to think about then. I hate to break it to you, but you need more than an 'I'm sorry' to fix this. You're going to need a miracle from the Angels." Alec patted his shoulder, "and I'm afraid they may not help seeing as they already brought you back to life once, and saved you from Jonathan's control another time."

Jace scoffed, "Wow, way to make me feel loads better."

"Hey don't get an attitude with me. This is entirely your fault" Alec retorted.

Jace didn't respond; mainly because he knew it was true.

Alec got up off the couch, "Look, I don't want to give you false hope, but I know Clary loves you. It may take time and a lot of efforts on your part, but I think there is still a chance that she may one day forgive you." He then turned and left the Library.

Jace sat in the quite for a few more long moments. He contemplated for a moment going back out and drinking his feelings away, but he thought better of it. Instead he head to his room to do exactly what Alec told him to do; think.


	20. Darkest Before the Dawn

**AN: I am so sorry for the long wait. This chapter was a tricky thing to write. It's a bit intense and I will get a lot of backlash from the Clace lovers, but eh what can you do. I've got chapter 21 in progress right now. I hope to have it up no later than next Tuesday.  
I hope you all enjoy (at least to some degree) and let me know what you think.**

Clary entered the dark institute once again. She didn't want to be here, but Simon had called her and told her what happened earlier that day and she felt that it was time finally confront Jace. She was done avoiding him and felt it was time to face her problem.

She had told Simon what she was planning to do. She thought he might try to talk her out of it, part of her even hoped for him to, but he just agreed that she needed to. He had told her that he and Isabelle would be there for her in whatever way they could. It warmed her heart that she had such good friends.

She had, however, decided not to tell him about the kiss she shared with Magnus. It wasn't that she felt guilty or wrong in any way; she just wanted to keep it quiet until she knew what it all meant. She had planned on talking to Magnus this evening, but she came here instead. She resolved that she would talk to him after talking to Jace.

She made her way up the elevator to the appropriate floor and as she stepped out she felt her stomach doing somersaults. To say she was anxious was an understatement. She was angry yes; but there was still a part of her that was still very much in love with Jace. In fact, if you had asked her three weeks ago if she thought they could work things out she would have said most definitely; maybe not right away, but eventually they could have been able to talk things through and tried to repair what was broken. After she saw him kissing Anna, she felt like she could never forgive him; but she wanted to at least hear what he had to say for himself.

She knew he had been trying to tell her his side of the story for some time now, but she really didn't want to hear it at the time. Could anyone blame her? Now he would get his chance. Now he would have to not only have to explain to her what he was thinking at the wedding, but also why he made-out with Anna.

Just thinking about it angered her.

She made her way down the hall and was approaching Jace's door. Even though she had been down this hallway countless of times it felt strange to her. She almost felt misplaced in them like she no longer belonged; which was stupid because Jace was the one who screwed things up not her.

When she finally reached his door she stopped and stared at it. She couldn't bring herself to knock right away. She felt herself shaking from nerves. Why she was nervous, she didn't know; but it felt like her heart was going to rip out of her chest with how fast it was beating.

As she lifted her fist to knock she heard the sound of something hitting the wall on the other side of the door.

Curiosity driving her, Clary hesitantly put her hand on the door knob and quietly opened the door. The room was dim and she was currently blinded to it. As she stood there she heard different sounds from the ones before.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the dimness of the room she saw him…and her. Jace had a blonde girl pressed up against the wall; her legs were off the floor and wrapped around him, his pants were undone around his hips, and her dress was pushed up to her breasts.

She couldn't believe her eyes.

"J-Jace?"

Jace sat in disaster that was his bedroom. He hadn't realized at the time what kind of damage he was actually doing. Though, he shouldn't be surprised; he'd fought demons his whole life. He was currently contemplating whether he'd start cleaning it now or wait until tomorrow; he was greatly leaning towards tomorrow.

He decided that he would attempt to get some sleep now and worry about this mess in the morning. Two hours went by as he lay in bed staring at the ceiling when he heard a knock on the door. He looked at his clock, _10:00 pm_; no doubt Isabelle Alec to check and make sure he was still here and sober.

He made his way to the door and yanked it open. "What the hell…" His words died on his lips when he saw it was neither Isabelle nor Alec. "Anna, what are you doing here?" he asked incredulously. His eyes examined her quickly. She was wearing a pale, yellow dress and her long, blonde hair was braided and pulled forward over her shoulder.

When she spoke her voice was soft, "I'm sorry it's so late. I just got off work. I came to make sure you were okay." Her eyes never left his, "You left so suddenly that night and I didn't know what happened. I haven't seen you around since then. I saw you and Alec heading towards the institute this afternoon when I was at work. I thought I'd catch you finally."

Jace rested his forehead against the door. "I'm sorry for running off like I did. I had something to take care of."

"Was it something to do with Clary?"

"Look Anna, I don't mean to sound rude but I should have never kissed you, and you shouldn't be here right now. I screwed up my entire life on my wedding day, my fucking _wedding day_, and kissing you only made it worse." He heard her stifle a sob at his words.

She took a deep breath, "I k-know I-I shouldn't have kissed you back. I-I should have pushed you back and s-stopped it, but I couldn't help it. I've liked you for a while now, but I knew that you were always going to be with Clary. I thought that that moment in Taki's would be my only chance to know what it would be like to kiss you, so I took it, and I feel really bad because I would never want to ruin your life for just kissing you and I know that I've probably hurt Clary more now and I just…I just feel so stupid." She had finally lost the battle against her tears as a couple leaked down her cheeks.

"Jace let out a sigh, "Let me get you a tissue." He turned and headed to his equally disastrous bathroom and retrieved a box of tissues from under the sink. When he exited the bathroom he saw that Anna was now in his room; she was examining the damage he'd done to his furniture.

"What happened in here?" She asked as she accepted the tissues he held out to her.

Jace didn't answer. He moved to sit on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

There was an awkward silence that settled over them.

After a few long moments Anna finally broke the silence, "Jace, I meant what I said before. If you ever need anyone to talk to I'm here. We can just forget about what happened before."

Jace stood suddenly, "That's the thing I can't just forget it." He was running his fingers through his hair and started to pace, "I know it shouldn't have happened, and I know that shit got messed up more because of it, but kissing you was actually amazing." He stopped and looked at her. "I can't explain it, but kissing you, as wrong as it was, felt so right in the moment."

Anna started backing up to the door, "I-I don't know what to say Jace."

Jace felt something in him switch; a hunger; a need. Before anything else could be said he walked up to her causing her to press her back against the wall. In one motion he shut the door then picked her up by her thighs and carried her to the bed and set her down.

"Don't say anything," he said quietly as he leaned down and brushed his lip against her. Their kiss started out soft. Her hands shot up to his shoulders and he felt the protest she was putting up, but he just kissed harder. She soon gave up and returned the kiss with full force.

Jace leaned forward until she was forced onto her back. He crawled on top of her pressing knew between her legs. She moaned into his mouth as she laced her finger through his hair.

Something took over Jace completely at that moment. He needed to touch her more; needed to feel her skin and hear her moans. His lips started working on her neck as his hand moved under her dress and felt the warmth of her skin.

Without warning Jace lifted Anna and wrapped her legs around him. He moved to the other side of the room and slammed her against the wall. Somehow he had gotten his pants undone and was working past her underwear.

Their bodies were moving as one; their foreheads pressed together as they exchanged sporadic kisses. They were both so caught up in the moment that neither of them saw the bedroom door open, nor did they see the person walking in. It wasn't until Jace heard his name spoken by a familiar voice that he became aware of her.

_Clary._


	21. Explanations Needed

**AN: I know a lot of my chapters have been gloomy. The next chapter is going to be a bit brighter. Get ready for some Sizzy. Let me know what y'all think of this chapter.**

No one had spoken as Jace and Anna clumsily fixed themselves. _At least they have the decency to look ashamed, _Clary thought as she watched them separate from each other. Anna backed into the far corner of the room while Jace remained in front of Clary. No one spoke. Clary knew she would probably have to break the silence, but honestly, she had no idea what to say.

She was angry, of course; the heat in her body had centralized in her chest and face causing her hands to feel as cold as ice. All she wanted to do was yell at the top of her lungs. As if Jace hadn't hurt her enough. As if he hadn't already ripped her heart out and stomped on it. Why did he have to continue? Why didn't he just come out and tell her that he didn't love her anymore? That he now wanted Anna?

The silence grew to be too much for her. "So are you going to say _anything_?" she forced as much harshness into his voice as she could. She wanted to make it abundantly clear that she was disgusted with him.

Jace opened his mouth, but nothing but garbled sounds came out of it. After a moment he tried again, this time he was able to form words. "Clary I…I would say I'm sorry…but I know that that would never be able to make up for anything."

This was true. Nothing Jace could say right now could get her to even consider forgiving him. Her fists clenched at her sides. "Why don't you start off with explaining to me why you have done everything you have done?" Her voice was clam; too calm for even her liking. She knew that at any moment she could explode.

"I can't explain everything Clary. I can only explain what I know," Jace stated quietly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she spat at him. She was starting to hear the harshness return to her voice.

"I don't know the reasons for all my actions."

Clary felt her hands shaking. It was one thing to act the way he had been lately, but now he was telling her that he doesn't even have any reasons for it all. "So what incident can you not explain Jace? What do you not have a reason for doing? Calling off the wedding and making me look like a fool? Or is it the one where you were making out with another girl only a week later? Oh oh oh, maybe it's this one; where your ex-fiancée walked in on you fucking that girl you were making-out wit?. Am I getting warmer?" She hadn't realized that she had started screaming towards the end. She took a deep breath and continued in a quieter volume, "So Jace, tell me which set of your actions are you not able to explain?" After a long moment of no reply Clary sighed impatiently, "Are you at least able tell me what I just walked in on?"

Jace's gaze dropped to the floor, "I can't."

"You can't? Why?"

He lifted his eyes back up to meet hers, "I don't know, Clary. I…shit just happened."

"Shit doesn't just happen, Jace. There are always reasons. They may be stupid reasons they are still there."

Jace didn't say anything. He looked truly ashamed as his gazed found the floor again.

Through the silence Clary heard a whimper in the corner. Both she and Jace turned their heads to see a crying Anna. Clary had completely forgotten she was there. Her wrath transferred to her just then.

"So, Anna, you're the harlot that Jace let me at the altar for? And to think, I actually had you at my bachelorette party _and _my bridal shower." The harshness was back. "So how long have you guys been sneaking around behind my back?"

Anna looked like a deer in headlights with a tear soaked face. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Before she got the chance to form an actual sentence Jace cut in, "Anna, just go. I'm the one she has the problem with."

Clary quickly interjected, "No, Anna, stay. I think this involves all three of us. After all if she is who you are leaving me for, I think I deserve to truly know why." Her words were bitterly wrapped in sarcasm.

"I am not…did not leave you for her." Jace's voice grew a bit bolder.

"Oh no?" Clary asked with a bitter laugh, "Because if you put yourself in my shoes, that is certainly what it looks like."

"Clary you are completely forgetting the fact that I tried to go to you and explain my side to you. You are the one who turned me away; the one who refused to listen." Jace was no longer speaking meekly.

Clary gritted her teeth, "Excuse me for needing a few days Jace. You left me _at_ the altar."

"I didn't _leave_ you…"

"Semantics."

"No, not semantics. I had my reason; whether you find them worthy or not, I had them. You are the one who ran off without letting me explain. You chose not to even give me a chance when I went to you at Magnus'."

"What the hell did you expect of me? You thought that I'd be just fine and wait for the full disclosure? Wrong. I wanted to get away from the man who had just ripped my heart out. Besides, why the hell do you think I came over here now? To get your side of the story."

"A month later. Why did you wait so long?"

"Oh I don't know Jace, maybe it had something to do with witnessing you swapping spit with _her_," she said acidly as she pointed in Anna's direction. "I came here to finally hear what you wanted to tell me; to finally get the answers that I have needed. By the Angel, I thought maybe, just maybe you felt at least a small amount of remorse for it all." Her voice softened a bit, "I thought…I thought…hell it doesn't matter what I thought.

"What did you think, Clary?"

"It doesn't matter anymore Jace," She sounded almost defeated.

"Yes it does," he said adamantly.

"No," Her voice hardened again, "It doesn't. What's done is done, Jace. There is no undoing this. There is no fixing it. Whatever was salvageable before was just destroyed." She turned to leave. When she got to the door she turned back and looked at him. Fighting back the familiar burn of tear in her eyes she said, "Good bye Jace," and then she left the room.


	22. Blindfolded

**AN I promised a lighter chapter. Here is a little Sizzy for you all.**

"Simon, what are we doing?" Isabelle was blind because of the cloth that Simon had tied around her eyes.

After her training session with Alec Simon had met her at her door and, without explanation, blindfolded her and led her out of the institute. He had walked her to a car and then drove about ten minutes after that. Isabelle was usually good at telling what direction she was going, even when she couldn't see, but she got the sense that Simon had taken a couple of extra turns to throw her off.

When the car finally stopped Isabelle heard Simon get out of the car and then she heard her door open. She reached out and felt his hand wrap around hers. He carefully helped her out the car and started to lead her in an unknown direction again.

"Simon, can I please take this off? I feel silly."

"Soon Iz, soon; and you don't look silly. You look beautiful." She could hear the smile in his voice. Whatever they were doing, he was really happy.

He led her into a building, a lobby of some sort, if the surrounding sounds told her anything. He then led her into an elevator, and according to the dings they exited on the 15th floor. The walked straight forward and were met with another door.

Isabelle heard the beep of a card swipe and came to the conclusion that they were in a hotel. She heard the door open and was once again led forward.

After the door clicked shut behind her, she felt Simon's hands on her waist. He moved her into a specific spot and began to untie the blindfold.

"You ready Iz?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded.

When the blindfold finally fell away Isabelle found herself in what seemed to be the sitting room of a hotel suite. The room was lit solely by candles; dozens of candles. As Isabelle walked into the room farther she noticed a small round table draped in a red silk cloth.

On the table was a medium sized intricately carved box. On top of the box was a piece of paper with the words _open me_ written on it. Isabelle glanced back at Simon who gave her no indication of what she should do.

She turned back to the box and picked it up. Upon further examination she saw that the box had been hand-carved. There was a small latch on the front of it that she was easily able to open with one finger. When she opened the box there was another folded piece of paper in it.

She carefully set the box down and retrieved the folded paper. When she opened it there was also only two words written on it; _turn around._

Obeying the paper's command she turned around.

Simon was on one knee in front of Isabelle. In his hand was a small back box, Isabelle could only assume held a ring.

Before she had a chance to speak Simon started talking. "Before you say anything hear me out. Over the past weeks we have seen the relationship of two people closest to us fall apart. When everything first happened I thought to myself, 'if they didn't last how on earth are we going to survive?' Seeing what Jace did to Clary scared me. I felt like our relationship could just be a fleeting moment; but then I thought about how you waited for me when I lost my memories; how you didn't give up even when I look at you without recognition. You never gave up on me so I will never give up on us. I do not see a future without you; I do not see me without you. I cannot let recent events scare me away from what I really want; you. Isabelle Sophia Lightwood will you make me the happiest man in the world and do me the great honor in marrying me?"

Isabelle was speechless. She had no idea Simon was even thinking about proposing to her. They had briefly talked about it once, but that was before this whole mess with their friends.

Of course she could see a future with Simon, but this stuff with Clary and Jace did have her feeling uneasy with the whole thought of marriage.

On the other hand though, she really could see any type of future without Simon. She hadn't felt like this for a guy ever. She knew it was love.

Without another thought she said "Yes."

A smile stretched across Simon's face. He got up from his kneeling position and wrapped her in his arms. He firmly pressed his lips to hers. Their kiss was filled with raw passion; but Simon, to Isabelle's dismay, pulled back from the kiss suddenly.

When he saw the pout on her face he smiled, "I have to give you your ring, Iz." He bent down and retrieved the black box from where he dropped it on the floor. "I know shadowhunters don't usually do engagement rings, but I haven't gotten my shadowhunter name yet so I don't have a family ring to give you. Besides this was my mother's ring and it would mean the world to me if you wore it."

He opened the box to reveal white gold band that had leaf patterns on either side of the princess-cut 1ct diamond. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She felt tears prickle her eyes. "Simon it's beautiful. I would be honored to wear something that means so much to you."

Simon removed it from the box and grabbed her left hand. He gently slid the ring on her finger. He smiled, "I knew it'd look perfect on you."

Isabelle wrapped her arms around her now _fiancée_ "I love you Simon."


	23. A Day Slept Away

**AN: Wow I didn't realize it had been so long since I last updated. I'm sorry to those of you who have been waiting for my update. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter and I ended up rewriting it. I want to tank everyone for their reviews, I know you all want to find out what the hell is going on with Jace; good news, you will find out NEXT CHAPTER! This time I promise that you will find out the full explanation. As for this chapter I hope you enjoy, Please don't hate me Clace fans, this is no Clace in this chapter. Alec and Nathan will be making their return in the next chapter too.  
Please let me know what you think of this chapter. **

When Clary opened her eyes she was met with darkness. Looking at her clock she saw that is was 8:30 pm. Great, she slept through the whole day. As she sat up she felt the tenseness in her muscles. She climbed out of bed and stiffly walked towards her closet. She grabbed a towel and made her way to the bathroom.

Once she was in the shower she closed her eyes and let the hot water relax her muscles. She had to figure out what she was going to do. In a matter of a month her life had completely derailed. This wasn't how she envisioned thing going. She was supposed to be married to Jace. She was supposed to be just getting back from her honeymoon with _Jace._ She wasn't supposed to be walking in on him screwing Anna the waitress.

How did everything go _so_ wrong?

And what about this whole kiss thing with Magnus? She hadn't talked to Magnus since that night two days ago. She knew she needed to talk to him about it. They had kind of left the kiss at just that, a kiss. But she needed to figure out what it meant to her before she talked to him.

Of course she thought Magnus

Clary finished up her shower and wrapped herself in a towel. As she exited the bathroom she ran into a solid body. She looked up and found Magnus' eyes locked to hers. She suddenly felt very not dressed.

"Hey, Magnus, when did you get home?" She tried to ignore the fact that she was half naked in front of a man who clearly had an interest in her. She instead tried to focus on maintaining eye contact with him.

He smiled slyly, as if he could sense her thoughts, "I've been home for a few hours. I checked on you last night when I got home, this morning before I left, and again when I got home tonight; you must have been quite tired."

"Clary let out a long sigh and let her gaze drop to the floor. "Last night was an emotional rollercoaster." She winced at her memory of the events. She lifted her gaze to meet his again, "let's just say that Jace and I will _not _be getting back together."

There is a quick flash of unreadable emotion that passes over his face; but is gone before Clary can decipher it. "What happened?" He asked sounding truly concerned.

"I'll tell you, but do you mind if I get dressed first?"

Magnus' eyes traveled the length of her body and a small smile played on his lips. "Awe, fine. If you must."

Clary playfully pushed him and headed towards her bedroom.

Magnus watch as Clary entered her room. Damn she looked good. Her being so close to him in a towel really didn't help him trying to give her space. He knew she was feeling apprehensive after their little make out session and he wanted to wait until she was ready to talk about it.

He headed to the kitchen to start making dinner. Clary had been asleep for almost 24 hours straight; she was bound to be hungry. He started pulling out ingredients for spaghetti.

As he started boiling the water Clary walked into the kitchen. Magnus couldn't help but notice what she was wearing, or lack of what she was wearing. She had on a pair of soft, blue shorts and a black tank top with no bra underneath. He did his best to keep his eyes on her face. Her hair was damp and forming into ringlets around her face. Her cheeks had that pink glow that people usually got after a hot shower. Her lips were as tempting as ever. _Fuck,_ looking at her face was not making resisting her any easier.

He shook his head clear of his wayward thoughts. "So biscuit, you ready to talk?" He asked as he poured the pasta into the bubbling water.

Clary lifted herself to sit on the counter and let out a sigh. She proceeded to tell him everything that had happened the previous night while passing him the spices he requested from the cabinet next to her.

She finished her story just as he was finishing up the food. "So he didn't apologize or anything?" He asks as he puts the timer on for the garlic bread.

"No, he knew it wouldn't do a bit of good. What hurt the most though is, before I interrupted them he looked like he was enjoying it more than he ever enjoyed it with me." She hung her head, "It makes me feel like he's leaving me because I'm inadequate at sex."

Magnus felt a heat rising in his chest. "Clary, please do not read into that and think too much of it." It really pissed him off that Jace could do such a thing to Clary. _What did she ever do to him to deserve such treatment?_ "Jace is an idiot. Whatever he was thinking is not worth your stress. He made a mistake and he gets to live with the consequences that will inevitably follow. He'll never be able to find someone as amazing as you." Magnus didn't

Clary smiled at him "I know you're right, but it still sucks."

Magnus moved in front of her and grabbed both her hands. "It's going to suck, probably for a long time. You two work for the same institute, and while I'm sure the clave will respect your heartache for a moment, you will probably be expected to patrol together again. Eventually you will get past this all. You will find a way to move on." He reaches up to brush a lock of curls out of her face. Her skin feels smooth against his hand. He wants to pull her to his lips right now.

The timer for the garlic bread goes off jolting him back to reality.

"Looks like it's time to eat."

Clary was washing the dishes as Magnus was talking to Caterina in the living room. She had only caught bits of their conversation because the water overpowered their hushed tones.

Caterina had said something about having to leave town soon and needing Magnus to cover some of her clients. She sure left town a lot, but that really wasn't any of her business. Though, she did often wonder about the whole business with warlocks.

As she finished up the dishes watches as Magnus says good-bye to Caterina. She looks over in Clary's direction and gives her a silent nodded of farewell; Clary nods back.

After washing and drying her hands she makes her way to the living room and joins Magnus on the couch. "That was a short visit."

Magnus muted the TV, "She had a client meeting at 11:00"

"Ugh, why so late?"

"Well, some of us have clients who have to meet at night, vampires and such. Her client prefers to meet as close to midnight as possible. He believes Caterina's powers get stronger at that time." He shifts on the couch, putting a bit more space between the two of them.

She pulls her knees to her chest wondering why he doesn't want to be near her. "Is that true?"

"Only on nights with full moons or other celestial events."

"Celestial events?" She asks in confusion.

"Lunar and solar eclipses, comets, planetary alignments, stuff like that."

Clary feels her interest peaking. "So that's all? A celestial event occurs and a warlock's powers increase?"

Magnus shakes his head, "Warlocks must know how to tap the power. It would be far too dangerous if just any warlock new to their powers could increase their power. There are some warlocks that have been around for centuries who still haven't figured out how to use celestial event to their advantage. In fact some don't even know that they can."

Clary doesn't say anything as she lets this interesting information sink in.

Magnus smiles, "why so interested in warlocks all of the sudden?"

Clary shrugs a little, "Well, if we're going to be roomies I'd like to know what you do."

Magnus raises an eyebrow, "So you're planning on staying for a while?"

Clary suddenly feels embarrassed for assuming that she can just stay. "Well, I…I just thought that…"

Magnus chuckles, "Clary, calm down. You are more than welcome to stay for as long as you'd like, I've told you that."

Clary feels your cheeks warm. "Thanks Magnus."

An awkward silence falls over them. Clary wants to discuss the kiss, but she doesn't know how to start the conversation.

As if reading her mind Magnus spoke up, "Look Clary, if it bothers you, we can just forget our little make out session and just get back to how it was before."

"Is…is that what you want?" She tries to hide the disappointment that is filling her voice.

Magnus leans forward, cupping her cheek in his hand, "Clary that is the last thing _I_ want. But I do not want you to feel uncomfortable around me. I like spending time with you, I like watching random TV with you, and I like cooking for you."

Clary lifts her hand and places it over his. "I don't want to forget it either. I just think we should figure out what it meant before anything else. I don't want to just think of it as a revenge thing for Jace doing what he did. I would never want to use you like that."

Magnus smiled


	24. The Diagnosis

**AN: I know I know, it took me far too long to update; I'm sorry. But I do hope that you will forgive me after this chapter. I promised a chapter that tells you what is going on with Jace. Now this is still some missing information that some of you will try to fill in yourself, but I promise that I will fill that in with the next chapter. Let me know what you think, and I will get the next chapter up as soon as possible. **

"Jace, slow down, will you please explain what is going on?" Alec was hurrying behind Jace who was currently walking at a faster than normal pace towards the park. 10 paces behind him, Anna was following, her tear stained face was train on the ground.

Jace suddenly stopped, causing Alec to almost run into him. When he turned around, Alec could finally get a clear look at the distress etched on his face. Jace took a deep breath, he looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he turned and continued toward the park.

Alec continued to follow him, this time remaining silent. He had decided that he would have to find out where they were headed when they got there.

He had received a phone call from Jace around midnight asking him to come to the institute. While it was barely noticeable, Alec could hear the subtle desperation in his voice. Without questioning him, Alec made his way to the institute, leaving a note for a sleeping Nathan.

Jace hadn't said much when Alec arrived, but Alec knew it was best not to push him _too_ much; he would talk when he was ready. So instead Alec just followed Jace's lead, and that is how they ended up on their way to the park.

Once they got there Alec saw a familiar figure sitting on a bench near the pond.

Caterina Loss rose from her seat as the three shadowhunters approached her. "Jace, Alec, Anna," it was hardly a friendly greeting. "Jace, I suppose you are going to tell me why I _needed_ to come out here so late? I supposed to be preparing to leave town."  
Jace approached her, "I understand it is late, but I had no one else to turn to," his voice was stern. I'll just cut to the chase; I believe there is something demonic going on with me. I think there a spell, or something, affecting my thoughts, feelings, and actions as of lately."

A look of annoyance passed over Catrina's face. "Is that what you are trying to blame all your actions on? Of course it couldn't just be that you are an asshole." After a pause and no retort from Jace she asked, "What has you believing you have been affected?"

"Look I know that I am on the shit list of many people, but I am still a shadowhunter who has helped the shadow world many times. I deserve to know if someone or something is fucking with my head." Jace's hands were clenched at his side. Alec could tell that is was taking all his strength to not lose control. "Do you think that I actually _wanted _to hurt Clary like I did? No, I didn't. There is something severely messed up with my head right now, and I want to know what is going on."

After several seconds of silence Caterina spoke, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Jace's expression softened slightly, "You'll help me?"

Caterina nodded, "But I'm not doing this for you. I myself would like to know what caused you to inflict such heartache on Clary."

His hard expression was back, but Jace didn't say anything.

Caterina Let out an exasperated breath, "Well let's get going, I'd like to get this done so I can get on with my own plans." And with that she turned and walked towards the other side of the park, three very quiet shadowhunters following her.

* * *

Jace didn't know what to expect when he got to Caterina's place, maybe he thought all warlocks were as weird as Magnus was, but Caterina's apartment was as average as average could get. It was smaller than Magnus' by far, but there was a cozy sense to it.

In the small living room where they were currently there was a sofa, loveseat, and an arm chair all in the same chocolate brown color with teal accent pillows (Jace mentally berated himself for even knowing the names of these colors; he had spent far too much time around Isabelle). There was a brown and teal area rug between all the furniture pieces with a glass coffee table on top of it.

Jace noticed there was no TV opposite the living room set, but instead a wall-sized shelf unit that housed several books and various knick-knacks. Caterina was currently looking through the books looking for the one she would use on him.

Awkwardly the three shadowhunters hovered by the door. When Caterina had noticed this she motioned to the sitting area, "Please sit, you all are making me nervous. I promise the cushions don't bite."

Alec and Anna sat together on the sofa while Jace took the armchair.

When Caterina found the book she was searching for she sat on the coffee table in front of Jace. As she flipped to her desired page, she went over what was about to happen. "Okay, so the first thing I am going to do is perform a body scan on you. This will tell us if there are any parasites on you."

"Parasites?" Alec and Jace asked together.

"Yes, parasites. Demonic parasites or any other supernatural parasites can attach to people and affect their moods, thoughts, even actions. It is rare that they attach themselves to shadowhunters or downworlders, but it _has_ happened."

Jace nodded showing his understanding.

Caterina stood and motioned for Jace to do the same. Once he was standing she started to run her hands over his body, a pink light was emitting from them. She wasn't touching him, but he could feel a tingling sensation in the areas she passed over.

After about 2 minutes and several passes Caterina stopped her scan. "Well, you have no parasites clinging to you." She picked up her book and scanned the page she had opened to. "This next test is going to be on your mind. I will have to see if any demons have touched you."

"Touched me?" Jace asked incredulously.

"Do you mean like physically?" Jace heard Alec ask. He refused to look at the pair sitting on the couch. He wanted them there, but he couldn't bear any judgmental looks that may be aimed his way. After all, what shadowhunter would be stupid enough to allow themselves to be affected by a demon?

Caterina let out a sigh, "No. When a demon possess a person or tries to influence them in any way they leave a trace on their mind. It's kind of like a fingerprint so to speak. It won't be enough to locate the exact demon that affected you, but we will at least know the species."

Out of the corner of his eye Jace saw Alec make a face; the idea that a demon may have 'touched' him, must have equally creeped the both of them out.

Caterina lifted her hands and placed them on top of Jace's head. His first instinct was to jerk away at the feeling of the tingling sensation, but he forced himself to stay still. He could sense the tension radiating off of Alec and Anna, their worried looks boring into the side of his face. He wished they would look somewhere else; he couldn't stand that their eyes had been trained on him the whole time.

Caterina's face was impassive for a long time, but a look of concern soon took over. After another moment she removed her hands from his head.

Jace searched her face for answers, but couldn't find any. "So, did you find out what has been messing with me?"

Once again flipping through the pages of her book Caterina replied without looking at him, "Something has touched you, but I can't distinguish its mark."

"What does that mean?" Jace demanded. He was getting sick of this bullshit. He wanted to know what was going on.

Caterina glared at him, but answered anyway, "Well, it could mean a couple of things. It could mean that whatever has touched you is unrecognizable by warlocks, but that is only the case with very high ranked demons. It could also mean that whatever it is is not fully demonic."

"So it could be a warlock or faerie?" This time is was Anna's voice Jace heard.

Caterina turned her glare to the female shadowhunter. "Of course not, those marks are easily identifiable. This mark in unfamiliar to me." She flipped through a couple more pages. "Ah ha, yes, "she set her book down and lifted her hands to Jace's chest.

"What is this going to do?" Jace asked in confusion as he took a step back.

Caterina rolled her eyes, "_You_ are the one who asked for _my_ help. If you are not going to trust me then you might as well leave now." When he stayed silent she put her hands back on his chest. "The answers I cannot find in your head may lie in your heart."

Jace once again felt the tingling sensation. He focused on keeping his breaths steady as the seconds ticked by. Finally Caterina removed her hands and motioned for Jace to sit.

No one spoke. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the warlock to break the silence.

When she finally did her voice was soft, "Jace, do you know what a succubus is?"

Jace nodded, "I know the basics of what it is, but please tell me what you know."

Caterina took a deep breath, "Basically a succubus is a demon that seduces men. They use their powers to attract men and use them as their sex slaves. Incubuses are the male versions. These demons are notorious for preying on humans. Like parasites, they don't usually go for shadowhunters or downworlders. Our wills are usually stronger than those of mundanes."

"But wouldn't Jace know if he was being used as a sex slave?" Alec asked, concern lacing his voice.

Caterina shook her head, "No, you see, the thing is, typically when men are affected by a succubus they are in a drug induced-like state. They only react to sex. The succubus will feed off of the man's sexual energy until he is dead."

"Jace is completely conscious, and obviously not dying," Anna stated. "How could he be affected?"

"The only thing that I can think of is a mix-breed," Caterina offered. "It would make sense seeing as the mark was only fully visible in your heart."

"A mix-breed?" Jace echoed.

"Yes, someone with succubus blood in their gene pool." She got up from her seat and made her way to her bookshelf. "It is a lot more frequent than you would think." She pulled a rather old, rather large book off the top self and started to flip through the dusty pages. "Mix-breeds occur when a pure succubus or incubus breeds with a human. These mixed-breeds can have an effect on humans to a certain extent. Mixed-breeds appear more attractive and more appealing to the opposite sex. The more diluted the gene the more subtle their lure is. A man attracted to a mixed-breed succubus is likely to act out of character and do things they would not normally do." She looked at Jace, "Like leave his bride at the alter suddenly."

Everyone remained quiet. Jace was fully taking in what he had just been told. Someone had in fact affected him. He wasn't in control of himself. He could tell Clary that his actions were not his own. Then something dawned on him. "Anna is the only person I have felt an attraction to since the wedding."


	25. Anna's Reaction

**AN: First off I would like to thank everyone for their reviews so far. It makes me so happy to see so many people enjoying this story. Secondly, no I will not be killing Anna. Sorry to those who wanted to see her dead. I had to laugh at some of the review I got because some of your reactions were just too awesomely funny. I am working on the next chapter now. I hope to have it up soon. I hope you like this next chapter. Please read and review.**

Three sets of eyes bore into Anna. She felt the tension in the room multiply by 300 percent. She felt the need to retreat from the room; unfortunately she was cornered. She knew it looked bad. She knew that they were looking at her for her explanation. Too bad she didn't have one.

What was she supposed to do, admit to being a succubus that lured Jace into leaving Clary; that she used her succubus powers to seduce Jace into having sex with her? No. She wouldn't admit such stuff because it wasn't true. She wasn't a succubus, she was a shadowhunter.

She saw the angered look in Jace's eyes. She felt truly hurt that everyone automatically believed that she was guilty; but then again, that was how it usually was with shadowhunters.

She tried to speak, but her voice was lost to her. She wanted desperately to defend herself, to tell them that she was not what they were thinking she was. It was almost like she could hear their harsh, judgmental thoughts.

The stares became too much for her so she looked down and closed her eyes.

"Seriously," Jace's harsh voice broke the silence. "You're not going to come clean now that you have been caught."

"Jace calm down, we don't know that it is actually her," Alec's voice calmly cut in.

"Don't…don't know it's her? Alec, Caterina just said,"

"Caterina just said that a mix-breed succubus can attract men and have an influence over them. She never said that these mix-breeds were doing it on purpose." Alec sighed, "I'd say more than likely, _if _Anna is one of these mixed-breeds, she has had no clue and was doing nothing to deliberately sabotage you."

Anna kept her eyes close. It made her feel marginally better to hear Alec somewhat defending her. He wasn't outright denying the possibility of it being her fault, but he wasn't holding up a sign that said 'Anna is a succubus mixed-breed'.

She tried to figure out how this had happened. All she had done was try to be there for Jace. She hadn't used any powers on him. In fact she had been the one taken completely by surprise when he kissed her in at Taki's and by the events that went down back at the institute only hours ago.

She lifted her gaze to look at Jace; he had gotten up and moved to the book shelf. "I didn't do anything." Her voice wavered a bit from the tears that she had been fighting back.

Jace looked at her incredulously. "I find that very hard to believe," he scoffed.

She stood from her spot on the couch. "I'm not the one who kissed you at the diner, _you_ kissed _me_. When I went to see you earlier I wasn't trying to tempt you for anything more. I was apologizing." Her voice had lost its shakiness and was now very firm. She moved to stand directly in front of him. "You're the one who said the kiss was amazing and you are the one moved things to where they went. Will I say I hated the kiss and the sex was awful? No, I won't, but don't you dare say that _I_ somehow made you do it all."

The whole room was quiet. Jace looked like he had just been slapped. Caterina and Alec had moved to the other side of the room; she assumed this was for their own protection, in case she had decided to start throwing punches. Both of them had a look of shock on their faces. Anna had forgotten that Jace had not actually told either of them what had transpired at the institute, but at the moment she couldn't care less.

She didn't want to be in here anymore. The looks of accusation were becoming too much for her bare. She ran across the room and was out the door before anyone could stop her. She kept running to get as far away as she could.

When she was a decent four blocks away she stopped running. It was late so there weren't many people on the street other than a couple homeless people and the taxis that were carting the club-goers home.

She made her way to a bench and collapsed, letting go of all her emotions.

Jace stared at the open door that Anna had just run out of. He was confused. He was angry at the thought that she could lure him away from Clary, causing him to break her heart, but at the same time he wanted to run after her and make sure she was okay. His conflicting emotions were becoming too much for him.

He should just be angry. Angry at her, angry at himself. Why should he care if she is upset? Why should he care if she is safe on the streets of New York this late at night? All he should be worried about is how he was going to explain all this to Clary. Would she believe that this wasn't his fault? Would she consider taking him back? He knew that the possibility was very slim, but maybe, just maybe, he could get her to forgive him.

But there was still Anna. He was worried about her right now. As much as he knew he shouldn't, a part of him wanted to be with her. He couldn't explain why, but he did. She said she had nothing to do with it, but how could that be? He felt himself being drawn to her, craving to touch her, to have her touch him.

He shook his head clear of his wondering thoughts and turned to Caterina. "Is she telling the truth about not doing anything intentionally?"

Caterina, who had been reading her book, nodded. "It is very possible for someone with succubus blood to attract someone without know what they are doing." She looked back at her book. "There is one thing though."

"What is that?" Jace was trying not to sound irritated, but it was hard when all this information was coming at him in pieces. He didn't know how much more bad news he would be able to take tonight.

She cleared her throat and started reading the words from the book. "A succubus or incubus mixed-breed will cause infatuation in members of the opposite sex, however not all mixed breeds are aware of their powers. Mixed-breeds that are less than half-blooded tend to unknowingly attract and affect the members of the opposite sex around them. Though there are very few, mixed-breeds that are aware of their blood status can use their powers of the own will; this is called deliberate attraction powers. The more diluted the blood the weaker the deliberate attraction powers are."

"What does that mean?" Alec asked.

"That means that if Anna is indeed a mixed-breed and her succubus relation goes far back enough, then she more than likely had no clue what she was doing and has absolutely no control over it." She skimmed her finger to a paragraph on the page, "The book also says that the in order of a diluted mixed breed to attract someone, there has to be an initial attraction."

Jace hung his head when he fully understood what she was saying. "So,"

"So you better start taking responsibility for your actions," Caterina cut him off. "I understand now that not everything was your fault with the wedding, the kiss too, but you have bigger problems now."

"What do you mean?" Jace was confused. His problems had been big since this whole mess started.

"I mean, you two have had sex," She handed him the book and pointed at another paragraph.

_Once a human has mated with a succubus or incubus, full-blood or mixed breed, they are then spiritually bonded from that point on. An attempt to break a bond can lead to the death of the human and the possible death of the succubus or incubus they mated with. Mixed-breeds are at a greater risk for death._

Jace looked up from the page. Alec had been reading over his shoulder. "So this means…" He couldn't finish the sentence; the thought alone made him sick.

Caterina nodded and finished his sentence for him. "This means that if you try to give your heart to someone else, you will more than likely die."


	26. A Call to the Institute

**AN: Okay y'all are lucky, I had the writing bug and was able to get out a long chapter this time. I hope y'all enjoy it. I had to bring back some reality of them being shadow hunters so there is some shadow world stuff in this one. Please let me know how you like this chapter. Next chapter Clary is finally going to talk to Jace. **

Clary was awoken by her ringtone. She fumbled with the various items on her nightstand until she felt the slender form of her phone. "Hello," her voice was coated in a groggily fog.

'Clary, I'm sorry to wake you' It was Isabelle on the line.

Clary sat up and checked the time on her phone. Something must be going on for her to call at 4:00 in the morning. "What's up Izzy? Are you okay? Is Simon okay?"

'Everyone is okay. I just…I just needed to talk to someone." She paused for a moment. 'Do you think we could meet up at Taki's?'

"Of course, give me 30 minutes."

After hanging up with Isabelle Clary got up, got dressed, brushed her teeth and threw her hair into a messy bun. She was about to leave when she thought about Magnus. She didn't want him to wake up and find her missing, so she wrote a note and left it on the nightstand on her side of the bed.

They had started sharing a room last week. Clary had found that she slept better when she was with him. They hadn't done anything sexual, just slept together. She felt safe when she was lying next to him; she felt happy. They both knew it was too soon for her to even think of being in another relationship, so they were just enjoying being in each other's company for now.

Before leaving she made sure she had her steel, at least two daggers, and a seraph blade; she couldn't be too careful on the streets of New York at 4:00 in the morning.

As she walked down the street in the direction of Taki's, she had a chance to think without interruption. It had been three weeks since she had caught Jace with Anna; over a month and a half since she was supposed to have married him. It didn't hurt as bad or as often now. She had been keeping herself busy with patrols and helping her mom get ready for Gabe.

Her baby brother was taking his sweet time in arriving. He was due about three weeks ago, but refused to come. The doctors had offered to induce Jocelyn many times, but she refused. She didn't like the idea of inducing, and she didn't want the drugs to have any bad side effects with the werewolf genes that Gabe carried. So for now, Jocelyn remained as uncomfortable and moody as ever.

Clary rounded the corner and was in front of Taki's. Her stomach dropped a little. She hadn't been here for over a month; since she caught Jace and Anna kissing.

She shook the thought out of her head and proceeded to enter and make her way to where Isabelle was sitting. "Hey Izzy." She leaned down and hugged her friend before sitting across from her.

She could tell Isabelle was nervous about something. She was biting her lip and fiddling with the sugar packets.

"Izzy, what's wrong?" She had never seen Isabelle like this.

Isabelle must have realized that she was thinking the worse, because she immediately tried to calm Clary down. "Everything is okay Clary. I just…a lot has happened over the last few weeks, and I feel like I need someone to talk to."

Clary felt relief wash over her. She couldn't handle any more bad news. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, I just,"

Isabelle held up a hand to cut her off, "Simon told me what you saw that night."

Clary had only told Magnus and Simon what happened when she went to talk to Jace last. She knew that Simon would divulge it to Isabelle, but she didn't mind, she just didn't want to have to repeat the story any more than she had to. "Just don't let it get back to my mom. She doesn't need to be committing any murders in her current state."

This brought a smile to Isabelle's face.

"So what _is_ going on?" She asked, trying to get back on the reason she was woken up at 4 am.

Isabelle looked hesitant. "Simon asked me to marry him,' her voice was terribly quiet.

A huge smile covered Carly's face. "Izzy that is such great news!" Her joy dropped for a moment, "unless you said 'no'?"

"No!" Izzy said defensively. "I said 'yes'. It's just…I didn't want to tell anyone yet. I know that you have not been yourself lately and I didn't want to rub my happy news in for face after all you have been through. But it's been bugging me to have to keep it quiet."

"Isabelle," Clary said with mock sternness. "Please don't ever feel like you can't share happy news with me. I know that what Jace and I have been through is nothing short of a soap opera, but that should not stop you from sharing your joyful news."

Isabelle smiled, "Okay, thanks."

Clary looked around the diner and realized that a certain waitress was not present. "So, what else have you heard about Jace and Anna?"

Isabelle perked up at the initiation of the gossip talk. Clary knew she wasn't big on gossip, but the whole thing with her, Jace, and Anna was too involved in her own life. Jace was her brother, and Clary was her best, well only, girlfriend. "Well, I haven't seen Anna, but I've seen plenty of Jace." She adjusted in her seat. "He's in a terrible state. When he's not training he's in the library researching something. I tried to ask him, but he wouldn't speak to me."

"He's researching something?" Clary asked skeptically. "That's not like him. He usually left the research up to all of us."

"I know right. I caught a couple of article titles he had opened. Whatever he is researching has to do with demon folklore."

Clary's brows furrowed, "Demon folklore?" That was odd. "Why would he be researching that? He already knows demons exist."

Isabelle shrugged, "You got me. But whatever it is, he's serious about it. He hardly sleeps or eats."

Clary and Isabelle talked for a while longer, until the sun started to rise. Clary decided it was time to head home and Isabelle offered to walk her.

"So are you going to talk to Jace?" Isabelle asked.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know if I can right now." She stopped walking and turned toward Isabelle. "I feel differently about Jace now. The days, the months in fact, leading up to the wedding, I was excited. I couldn't wait to be Mrs. Jace Herondale," her voice cracked a bit as she fought back the tears. "I wrapped myself around the whole idea that we were going to united as one, grow old, and build a wonderful life together. When he did what he did, I felt like everything just imploded. I felt lost. I felt like without him I had no identity. That's why I got so angry when he tried to come and apologize to me. It was like, this man, this man was the man that I was planning on giving myself to, and he just ripped it all apart. He had such an effect on me that I completely broke down over all this. It was only made worse by the fact that I caught him kissing another girl only a week later, and then…" she couldn't finish that sentence. "I just need to heal completely before I talk to him again. I've just now gotten to the point where I can go on patrols again without fearing running into him."

Isabelle nodded. She didn't say anything, but Clary knew that Isabelle understood.

As they rounded the last corner of their walk, Clary was surprised to see Magnus leaning against the wall outside; it looked as if he were waiting for her.

"Hey what's up?" she asked as she approached him. "Didn't you get my note?"

"I did, but Maryse has called us to the institute." His hand moved to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face and then to rest on the small of her back. "She said it was urgent, so I think we should head that way now."

Clary looked at Isabelle who hadn't missed the small intimate gesture judging by the smile on her face. "What do you think she could be calling us in about?" Clary asked trying, and failing, to distract her friend.

Isabelle offered Clary a smile and a wink then shrugged, "My mom doesn't usually wake people up this early unless it's truly important."

* * *

When the three of them arrived at the institute they found that many of the other shadowhunters in the city were already in the library; including Alec and Nathan.

Isabelle separated from Clary and Magnus to see if she could get any answers from her brother. Magnus guided Clary to the couch where they both sat down together.

Magnus had to stop himself from lacing his finger with hers. He wanted to show his affection for her openly, but he knew the improperness of someone moving on so quickly from being left at the altar. The last thing he wanted was Clary to get an indecent rap of being a floozy. So he would settle for just being near her for now. He knew she felt something for him; she had told him, many times, but things had to move slowly, otherwise he may just become a rebound.

Slowly the room began to fill with more shadowhunters and werewolves. The waitress from Taki's, Anna, and her family walked through the door. Anna looked like she hadn't slept in days. Magnus knew her lack of sleep wasn't work related. He hadn't seen her at Taki's since Clary had told him about the incident with her and Jace. He could tell that there was something seriously bothering the girl; maybe a guilty conscious?

He felt Clary slightly tense next to him. He followed her line of sight and saw that Jace had just walked into view. He, like Anna, looked like he had had very little sleep over the past few weeks. Magnus also saw the top of a silver flask poking out of his pocket. He wondered if it was just guilt they were feeling, or if it was some other demon the pair were facing, and if they had anything to do with each other.

After several minutes of people trying to find a place to sit the meeting began. Maryse stood at the front of the crowd and began talking, trying to get her voice to project as much as possible. "I know all of you are wondering why I have called this urgent meeting. Well we have a demon situation that needs immediate attention. Our Dublin, London, and Cornwall institutes have reported higher than usual demon activities. We need to formulate three groups to send over to send over to help our fellow shadowhunters." She paused to let everyone do their whispering and then continued, "I will need 6 shadowhunters per group. Maya," she nodded to the dark-skinned girl standing off to the side, "has assured me that we have her clan's support, so we will add 3 werewolves to each group. I have already spoken to those who will lead each group, they are going to pick the members they so desire and set off. I need to speak with Magnus and Caterina."

The three leads that had been chosen were three shadowhunters that had transferred from Idris. Magnus had met them briefly, but didn't really know them, but he had seen some of them in action during the Dark War and he knew they were good fighters.

He leaned over to Clary, "Hey I'm going to talk to Maryse. Did you want to come with me?"

She smiled, "Actually I saw Luke while we were in the meeting. I'm going to go see him." She gave his hand a squeeze before getting up and disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

Clary found Luke easy enough. He was on the phone arguing with someone. "No…No everything is fine. You need to stay put…I don't care, I will not have my wife go into labor in the middle of the street…Your daughter is here, yes…I will…Yes okay I will…Love you too, bye." When he hung up the phone her raked his hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh. "Your mother is impossible."

She smiled, "And now you know why I cannot move back in with you guys."

Luke laughed, "Yeah, well, I don't blame you much. You have been able to take care of yourself for quite some time now." His eyes were locked on hers. "So how have you been? I know you have been over, but you and I haven't really had a chance to talk." There was a fatherly tone to his voice.

Clary had looked at Luke as her father for a long time now. He was the one who took care of her like a father would as she grew up; he was the one she remembered at every birthday, first days of school, and every time her mom and her needed any kind of help. In fact Clary had found herself calling him dad more and more lately. She'd reckoned that she would just give in once Gabe was born and just make it a normal thing for her.

"I'm okay," she said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "I promise. Living with Magnus is actually fun, and I have even picked up a patrol schedule. I am also going to start helping with the training of the young shadowhunters."

Luke's smile widened, "I know this isn't the life your mother wanted for you, but you are an amazing shadowhunter, and an amazing person." He pulled her into a hug, holding her tight.

Clary hugged him back. She really did love Luke.

When they separated from each other Magnus was just approaching them. "I hope I'm not interrupting this beautiful father daughter moment, but Maryse needed to talk to Clary."

Clary looked at Luke who nodded in response. "I have to go check on your very pregnant mother anyways." He kissed Clary on the top of her head before turning and leaving.

* * *

It turned out that Maryse had just wanted to inform Clary that she needed her to stay to look after the children that were being left behind. She would not only be training them, but also keeping an eye on them at the institute; which meant there would be a great possibility she would run into Jace. Maryse wanted to make sure she would feel comfortable being at the institute until the children's parents came back.

She was, as long as she had a room far from Jace.

The bulk of the crowd had dispersed, having to get their gear ready. The ones who lingered were either socializing, which to Clary seemed very awkward since an impending demon battle was just announced, or they were pestering Maryse with a million questions.

Magnus, who had been talking to Caterina, had appeared at Clary's side. "Hey, can we talk for a moment?" He motioned for her to follow him to a side room off of the library.

Inside there was a desk and a brown, leather arm chair. Clary knew there were a few of these rooms in the library, meant for studying, but often just used to hide when avoiding training or Isabelle's cooking.

She turned and sat on top of the desk. "What's up?"

As Magnus walked towards her, she couldn't help but feel a flutter of attraction for him. His eyes bore into her. Their uniqueness never got past Clary; she could stare into them forever.

He brushed his hand along her cheek. She leaned into the movement of his fingers, letting her eyes drift shut.

"I have to go to Dublin." His voice was soft.

Clary opened her eyes; she felt her mood instantly drop. "How come?"

"The London institute has a High Warlock to help defend them, but neither Dublin nor Cornwell do. Maryse has asked Caterina to go to Cornwell and me to go to Dublin."

Clary felt herself pout a little. It was bad enough that she was going to have to be an overrated babysitter while everyone else was fighting, but now she would be alone when she went home during her off time. She had paused at the thought of the word 'home'. It was no longer just 'Magnus' apartment', it was hers too. She no longer felt like a guest when she was there, but an actual resident. Now she would without him when she was there.

She reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face. "Be safe okay." She continued their eye contact. "I do not need you to get hurt." She didn't want him to go, but she knew he had a duty to the Clave to help defend the shadow world against demons.

"I will biscuit," he said with a smile. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers, his hands rested on the desk on either side of her.

"I don't want you to leave."

"I know."

"I feel like things are just getting started for us."

"They are."

"Will you miss me?"

"Every fucking day."

They looked into each other's eyes. There was definitely a connection there. Clary tilted her head to bush her lips against his. The kiss went from gentle to fierce quickly. Clary's hands laced through Magnus' hair, while his hands gripped her waist and pulled her closer.

Both of them were so caught up in each other that neither of them saw a livid Jace watching them from the doorway.


	27. Confrontation in the Kitchen

**AN: Okay first let me apologize for being so late, I lost my computer for nearly two weeks and had no way to write. **  
**Secondly I cannot telly you how happy it makes me to see the positive feedback on this story. I know it was rough in the begining, but I now have 172 follower, 120 faves and 240 reviews. These numbers make me so happy and encourage me to continue to write. I want to send out a special thanks to everyone who takes the time to review. I love reading what y'all think and see how y'all like/love my story. **  
**I hope you enjoy this chapter, we get some revelations in it. **  
**I hope the next chapter won't take as long to get out. Please read/review this one an I will be working on the next :D**

Two weeks had passed by since the three groups had left. Clary, Simon, Isabelle, and Jace were left behind while Magnus, Alec and Nathan were sent to defend the institutes in need. From what Clary had heard they were only going to be gone one more week and then they would get to come home. This was good, Clary thought, because she found that she missed Magnus quite a bit.

She had kept sufficiently busy during the two weeks so that her thoughts wouldn't linger on how much she missed Magnus for too long. Between training, watching the left-behind kids, patrols, and helping out with her baby brother Gabe, Clary schedule was full.

But, despite the distractions, Clary still thought about Magnus a lot. It was hard not to think about him when she would get daily notes from him. Magical notes that Magnus would send her with sweet messages reminding her that he was missing her just as much as she was him.

The notes would show up on her night stand at night while she was sleeping. She would read his message on the front and write her reply on the back. All she had to do was place the note card back on her night stand and it would disappear. Most of the messages were simple with the exception of the first one. The first message she received was a surprise to her and told her how they worked and that he was going to send them to her.

The majority of their messages were Front: _Good morning beautiful I hope you have a nice day. _Back: _You have a good day too. Be safe fighting those demons,_ or Front: _I hate being so far away from you. This mission needs to be over with now. _Back:_ I agree. This place is too lonely without you. Chairman Meow misses you too._ Cute, sweet messages. They one she got yesterday, though, made her smile the most: _One more week biscuit. I can't wait to see you and hold you again._ She had smiled uncontrollably the whole day.

Clary had decided not to stay at the Institute. She had tried the first couple of days, but she felt terribly uncomfortable and she just wanted to be back in her own bed. She decided that she would suffer in the morning and wake up earlier to be more comfortable at night.

To top off everything, just a day after the groups took off Jocelyn went into labor delivering a healthy 9lb 5oz Gabriel Anthony Garroway; a spitting image of Luke. Clary had been helping out when her mom and Luke needed it and when she could get away from her duties at the Institute. Usually she would go over and watch Gabe for a couple hours so they could get a nap in.

At the Institute, the kids she was currently training needed a lot of work. Isabelle and Simon had started helping her when it became apparent that there were too many students for just her to train. Clary hadn't realized how many shadowhunter families had actually moved to New York, and how many children were still in the city and not at the Shadowhunter Academy.

They ended up splitting the children into groups of 5, and each would train at different times of the day. Clary would always train her group first thing in the morning while Simon took early afternoon and Isabelle late afternoon. Their schedule had run seamlessly the past two weeks. Clary had even managed to Avoid Jace this whole time. Well, she avoided him until today.

She had just finished a rather stressful training session with her students and sent them off to study with Maryse when she ran into him in the kitchen.

She had busted through the door with a little more force than intended (but that is to be expected when one child decides that you are no longer the 'boss' of them and wants to throw a fit the whole morning) and ended up running right into him. When their eyes met the air felt like it was sucked out of the room. The two of them didn't move or speak; they just quietly, and awkwardly, stared at each other.

Clary decided she couldn't take it anymore. She forced herself to move. She maneuvered around Jace to the refrigerator and yanked it open. After grabbing a bottle of water she turned and faced him again. She didn't know why, but she decided to talk to him. "Hi," she said in a clipped tone.

"Hi," Jace replied looking startled that she was even talking to him.

Clary gave him a once over. He looked worse for wear. His hair looked like it hadn't been combed in weeks, his eyes had dark bags underneath them, his nails had been chewed until they bled, and his skin had a sickly green tint to it. Upon closer examination Clary was sure he looked thinner than the last time she saw him.

"You're not eating," she stated bluntly.

Jace shook his head.

"Why?"

He shrugged, "I haven't been hungry much lately." His voice was rough. She hadn't noticed with his initial 'hi', but it sounded as though he had been screaming for days. That or he hadn't talked for days.

A million thoughts soared through Clary's mind. Mostly she was thinking about how she shouldn't feel bad for the man that broke her heart into a million pieces. But that's not who she was. She wasn't heartless. She knew that something was wrong with him, and he needed someone to notice. "Sit," she said gesturing towards the table.

He did as she said as she started rummaging through the pantry and refrigerator. She managed to scrounge up enough ingredients to make a decent chicken and vegetable soup. She ladled a healthy portion into a large bowl and set it in front of Jace and a smaller potion for herself.

They both ate in silence for a bit. Clary noticed, out of her peripheral vision, that Jace would look at her every couple of minutes. She ignored it for the first 10 minutes, but it started to get on her nerves. "Jace if you have something you want to say, will you just say it. I don't like to be stared at."

Jace dropped his gaze to his soup bowl. "_I_ have nothing to say."

"Okay."

After another bought of silence he spoke again. "Maybe there's something _you_ have to say," he said accusingly

"What is that supposed to mean, Jace?" She asked confused.

"Nothing," He replied, continuing to look at his soup.

"No, if you have something to say to me you might as well say it."

Jace didn't speak right away. He looked like he was trying to put his sentence together in his head. He lifted his gaze to meet hers, "I saw you and Magnus…in the library…making out," his words were quiet, but harsh, like he was trying to get a reaction from her.

Clary thought it would upset her, or at least startle her when Jace found out about her and Magnus, but she felt strangely calm. "So," she replied evenly, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her chair.

She could see that Jace was really bothered by her nonchalant response. "So…so, you've berated me on _my_ doings," His voice faded out slightly on the last word. "Yet here you are, doing no better."

Clary stood from her chair and moved her hands to her hips, "Excuse you. You have no right to judge what _I_ do." She started to clear the dishes from the table, snatching his unfinished bowl from in front of him. "What _I_ did has no merit to what _you_ did. Don't even _try_ to compare them."

"All I'm saying is,"

"I don't care what you're saying," she interrupted. "What I do and who I do it with is no longer your concern. You made that decision when _you_ did what you did with Anna." She dropped the dishes in the sink with a loud clank.

She turned to leave, but before she could get out the door she felt Jace's body crash into hers, pinning her to the wall.

Jace's face was distraught and inches from hers. There was a flare in his eyes that was unreadable. When he spoke he looked her in the eyes. "I know you haven't just moved on from me, from us." His voice sounded desperate. "We can fix this, Clary, we can still be together. I still love you Clary." Without warning Jace pressed his lips to hers.

Clary froze for a second. She didn't realize what was happening. Jace had just told her that he still loved her, that he still wanted to work everything out. Jace was kissing her. What did she feel? Nothing. His kiss ignited nothing in her. Their spark was gone.

She pushed him off of her as soon as she got her bearings back. "No Jace. We cannot fix us. We are no longer an us. We won't ever be an us again."

He didn't move from in front of her, effectively keeping _her_ from moving. "So what Clary, you are just going to be with Magnus? He's a warlock, Clary. You have a self-life, he doesn't."

Clary felt herself growing angrier. "It's none of _your_ business," She shouted. "If _I_ want to be with Magnus I will be with Magnus. I am no longer _your_ concern, Jace." She tried to push past him with no success. She let out a frustrated sigh, "_I_ will do what _I_ want with _whom_ever I want and _I_ will not care what _you_ think. You did that, and that is how we got to where we are now."

"It's not the same Clary," Jace stated firmly.

"Of course it's not the same. You didn't even wait until the wedding presents were returned to move on."

"That's not what I mean."

Clary was shouting louder now, "Then what do you mean, Jace? What makes us different other than I waited until we were absolutely done to move on?"

"I had no choice!" Jace shouted above her. When she fell silent and he had her attention he continued. "I was manipulated supernaturally, and the effects led me to act the way I did."

Clary studied his face. She knew he wasn't lying, but she still couldn't believe him. "What are you talking about?"

"Caterina preformed a magical scan on me and found that I had been affected by a succubus."

Clary scoffed, "A succubus? Really Jace, I'm supposed to believe that?"

Jace shook his head and moved to sit back at the table. "You're not _supposed_ to believe anything like that," his voice was softer, sadder. "You're _supposed_ to be my wife. We're _supposed_ to be married, in our own place. This isn't how anything was _supposed_ to be." He let his head fall to rest in his hands.

Clary stayed where she was. She was processing the information that was just hurled at her. She felt a pang of sympathy for Jace. He seemed so broken. Much like she was when all of this first started.

She searched her brain for something to say, something to fill the deafening silence that consumed the room.

She couldn't think of anything. She did the _only_ thing she could think to do; she ran out of the kitchen.

Alec had just been relieved by the day crew. He had been standing guard for the last 10 hours straight. He had been sent to the Dublin institute while Nathan went to the Cornwall one. Much to Alec's dismay, Magnus had also been sent to the Dublin institute to fill their need of a warlock.

Alec was sure placing the two of them at the same institute wasn't done maliciously, but it was an uncomfortable situation nonetheless. He felt uncomfortable around Magnus, especially after finding out that he was still not over him. Alec was happy and had moved on, but Magnus was still stuck in their past.

Alec sat down for dinner by himself; he was alone at the table most nights. He usually ate his food and waited for Nathan to come off his shift so they could talk on the phone. Tonight was no different, that is, until he spotted Magnus walking in with his own plate of food.

Alec was sure that Magnus would sit as far away from him as possible. They hadn't exactly been on good term for the last couple of years, and it was only made worse since Jace's and Clary's wedding disaster. However, instead of sitting far away, Magnus sat directly across from Alec.

Before Alec could make up his mind on whether or not he would try to start up a conversation, Magnus spoke, "So how have you been Alec?"

This threw Alec off for a moment. Magnus had only ever called him Alexander. It had been annoying at first, no one other than his parents had ever called him by his given name, but he had grown to love hearing it from Magnus. But now he had just called him 'Alec', just 'Alec'. Something felt very off about that.

He realized that Magnus was looking at him, still waiting for an answer, "Oh, I've been good. You?"

Magnus smiled, "I've been very well."

There was something about his smile; something that had Alec wanting to know more. "So what have you been up to? You know, other than fighting demons."

Magnus shrugged, "Oh you know, I just keep to my warlock business. Nothing new really."

Alec could tell that Magnus wasn't being entirely truthful. Magnus was good at keeping secrets from people, but Alec had dated him for some time. "So, I know we haven't talked since," he didn't want to finish his sentence. He felt ashamed of the way he spoke to Magnus the last time they talked.

As if Magnus could sense Alec discomfort, which was highly possible, he spoke instead of waiting for Alec to talk. "Look, I understand now that we are over. I understand that you are happy with Nathan and that you and I were just not meant to be." He took a bite a food and finished chewing it before he spoke again. "I think that it just took me a little longer to realize this is all."

Alec stared at Magnus. He didn't know what to say. After all what do you say to your ex-boyfriend who has admitted that he is finally over you? "So did you find someone else?" Alec asked. He didn't know if that was being too blunt, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

There was that smile again. "I may have. It's nothing official yet, but it's leading there, I hope." The smile didn't leave Magnus' face the rest of the meal.

The two of them force casual small talk until Alec was done with his food. He made a polite exit and went to his room to wait for Nathan's call.

The rest of the night he couldn't help but wonder what guy caught Magnus Bane's eye and helped him move past their break up.

**AN:I truly hoped you like this. Please let me know your thoughts.  
****I would like a little help from the fans for an upcoming chapter. Do y'all have a way that y'all would like Alec and the rest of the gang to find out about Clary and Magnus? Please share your ideas.**


	28. The Reunited Kiss

**AN: Woohoo I updated quicker than I did last time! This Chapter is a bit shorter than the last two, but just as fulfilling. **

**A note for those who believe that Magnus couldn't possibly be into Clary because she is a woman. Magnus dated two women that we know of. Camille Belcourt and a woman named Etta in 1938. He has also said "_I've been alive for hundreds of years. I've been with men, been with women—with faeries and warlocks and vampires, and even a djinn or two." _So please stop deluding yourselves into thinking that he would not be into Clary as a woman_. _**

**I also want to say thank you to Nightmare-wolf22 for giving me the initial idea for how everyone finds out. **

**Please read and review! :)**

Clary had been anxious all day. She couldn't wait for Magnus to get home. Everyone was due back sometime this morning and she found herself constantly checking to see if it was time yet.

She was currently in the training room with her group. "Jailene, you need to watch your landing when you jump off the platform. If you keep landing the way you are your life as a shadowhunter will be cut short due to a shattered knee." She moved to watch the fight simulation between Lena and Greg. "Greg, watch what you do with your free hand. Lena, good form, but you're not actually trying to kill Greg."

The morning continued like this until everyone was called downstairs. Isabelle, Simon, Jace, and the kids that were hoping to see their parents gathered around the intended portal spot.

According to Isabelle, the kids would not get to leave with their parents right away, because Maryse intended to have a meeting to get a full report analysis from each team. She also wanted a performance review from everyone involved. Supposedly there were some openings at a couple other institutes, and she was in charge of choosing who was going to run them.

"Hey Clary!" Simon and Isabelle were coming towards her.

"Hey Simon, hey Izzy."

"So how was training this morning?" Isabelle asked.

Clary shrugged, "You know how it is. They're eager to do everything, but they don't like having to learn the proper way to do it."

Simon sighed, "Jailene still landing too hard?"

Clary nodded. "And Greg is going to get his hand chopped of the first time he is faced with an actual fight."

"Oh, I know what you can do," Isabelle chimed in. "Tie his arm to his side."

"Really?"

"Yes. You make him become accustomed to it being there and it will just be a habit that he forms." Isabelle smiled, "You should actually have him do it with both arms so that he isn't dependent on his dominate arm."

Clary thought for a moment. "Izzy you are right. That makes sense. Thanks. How are your guy's groups?"

"Izzy's is fine. She has got them trained to be on time, do as she says, and clean up before they leave."

Of course she does, Clary thought. "And yours?"

Simon's gazed dropped to the floor. "Let's just say that if Victor doesn't improve his attitude, I may end up committing murder."

Clary laughed. "He only has one more year and then his parents are sending him to the Academy. He'll be out of your hair."

"Good," was all he said.

When they turned their attention back to the front of the crowd they saw the portal forming. Clary felt her heart beat faster in excitement.

First to emerge through the portal was Alec. Clary knew that Magnus would be the last one to cross through since he had to hold the portal open. She waited patiently as each person appeared.

Finally after what seemed like forever, but was really only a couple of minutes, Clary saw a familiar head of glitter-spiked hair.

She felt a wave of excitement hit her, but immediately leave when she saw Maryse pulling him away from the crowd. They had a short conversation and then she went back to the portal.

Before heading into the institute, Magnus looked toward the small crowd and caught Clary's eye. She offered him a little wave which he replied with a smile and a nod before turning and disappearing into the building.

The rest of the group stayed where they were until the other two groups came through. Isabelle went to welcome her brother home with Simon right behind her.

Soon the returned shadowhunters made their way into the institute and to the conference room to start their meeting. Clary, Simon and Isabelle were left with their group of kids to finish out their training day.

After her training session was done, Clary sent her training group off to get packed and ready to leave when their parents were done with the meeting. Clary had decided to find someplace quiet to wait for Magnus until _he_ was done with the meeting.

A few hours later when the strategic meeting with Maryse was over, Magnus went to look for Clary. After a bit of searching he found her alone in the library, sketching. She didn't see him when he entered, so he decided to take this opportunity to just watch her. He loved how serious her facial expressions got when she drew. The way she would bite her he lip when she was thinking. Oh how he wanted to bite that lip.

She was sitting in an armchair with her feet tucked under her; a knitted blanket covered her lap. Her hair was twisted up in a bun, secured with a spare pencil, exposing the smooth, pale skin of her neck. Thoughts of him kissing, licking, and biting that skin entered his mind.

While he was gone all he could think of was getting back here to her. He knew that they weren't together officially; things had just started to really spark between them before he had to leave. But he was determined to change that; he _would_ make it official before the day ended.

"Magnus!" Her voice startled him from his train of thought. He hadn't even realized she noticed he was there. She set her sketch pad down on the table beside her. "When did you get done with the meeting?"

He moved to stand in front of her as she stood from her seat, the blanket dropping to the floor. "About 20 minutes ago. We had to go over all the going ons at each institute. Are they properly trained, do they have sufficient equipment, and whatnot." He tucked a strand piece of hair behind her ear and allowed his thumb to brush her bottom lip. "It was terribly boring. All I could think about was escaping that room and finding you. You won't believe how much I missed you."

Clary inhaled sharply, "I think I may have an idea." She lifted her hand to rest on his cheek.

She stood on her toes as Magnus leaned down and caught her lips in his. One of his hands moved to her waist while the other treaded through her hair. Clary wrapped her arms around his neck forcing her body closer to his.

Their kiss went from sweet and innocent to heated, rather quickly. Magnus let his tongue graze across her lips, asking for entrance to her mouth; she eagerly accepted. After a few delicious moments he moved from her mouth and began to trail kisses across her jaw and down her neck. A gasp escaped her lips as he indulged his earlier fantasy and softly bit the junction between her neck and shoulder. He then made his way back to her mouth where he enjoyed the sweetness of her taste along with a couple of nips at her bottom lip.

When they finally pulled apart, the need for air becoming too much, he rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed lazily. "So much better than I could ever dream," he said breathlessly.

Suddenly they heard someone clear their throat, and when the turned to the entrance of the library they saw Alec, Nathan, Simon, Jace, and Isabelle. Alec was at the front of the group with a confused look on his face, not too different from the ones on Simon's and Isabelle's. Jace, surprisingly, didn't seem too surprised and Nathan just seemed indifferent.

Alec stepped forward a bit. "So, this is the _guy_ you are dating?"

Magnus rolled his eyes as Clary looked at him. "You told him I was a guy?" She asked in a playful tone. "You told him we were dating?" She followed up in a more serious tone.

Magnus shook his head. "I told him neither. I said there was _someone_ but I told him nothing was official yet."

"Yet?" Clary asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Yes, _yet_. I was planning on asking you our status."

He heard Jace scoff, "What, after you sucked her face off? Ow!"

"Shut up Jace," Isabelle's voice chimed in.

Magnus could help the smile that spread across his face. His disdain for the blonde shadowhunter was still quite high. He looked back at Clary and cupped her face with one of his hands. "Of course, this isn't how I planned to do it at all. I wanted something a little more private, and intimate, but since we are on the subject, would you object to me saying we are dating?"

A smile, equal to his, covered face. "Not one bit."


	29. Parabatai

**AN: AHHGGG I did it. Okay So I think I'm going to be posting slightly shorter chapters. This way I can get them out more frequently and not worry about a large word count. The next chapter is half way done and I hope to get it out no later than the weekend. **  
**Please forgive any grammatical errors in this, I did not have my wonderful friend look over it first.**  
**This Chapter gives y'all the chance to see how Jace is doing after everything. A little Parabatai bonding. **

**Please let me know how you like it. **

* * *

Things were finally getting back to normal, a month after the Clary and Magnus debacle. Jace, while he sometimes seemed to be in a perpetually foul mood, was finally looking healthier. Alec hadn't liked how thin and sickly he got in the weeks after finding out about Anna and her part played in his failed wedding. He still was 100% though. Every morning when Clary would come to the institute to train the children, he would seclude himself in his room, away from everyone. However, once she was done and gone, Jace would be back to his somewhat-self.

Alec had to admit, it was a bit unnerving to find out that Magnus and Clary were a thing. He knew he had no right to be jealous, and he really wasn't, but something about the two of them together bothered him. It probably had something to do with the fact that Clary was with Jace only a couple of months ago, and she had now moved on to his ex-boyfriend.

Walking in on them kissing had sent a wave of irritation through him. He quickly reminded himself that it was _he_ who had ended things, and not Magnus. Why should he be mad if Magnus had finally moved on; even if it was with his parabatai's almost-bride?

Magnus and Clary had every right to be happy, and if they chose to find that happiness in each other, no one should condemn them.

What worried Alec the most at the revelation was Jace. He had feared that Jace would fall deeper into the depression that already consumed him; that he would become so lost in a haze of alcohol and self-loathing that no one, not even Alec could pull him back.

Luckily, Alec's fears had not become reality. Jace had been okay, well as okay as one could ever expect him to be. He came to dinner every night, attended any meetings that were held, and went on his scheduled patrols with Alec. He had even started to play the piano again. Isabelle had told him that she frequently heard the soft music before falling asleep at night.

Alec didn't know what the music meant exactly, but he knew it was a sign of the old Jace coming back. He knew that it would take a while for Jace to be good again, and he'd probably never be the same person he was, but Alec could see the slow process.

Tonight, they were meeting up for their patrol at the park.

Alec approached the park bench that Jace was seated on drawing what looked like an agility rune on his arm. "Hey," He said once he was by the bench.

"Hey," Jace replied as he stood from the bench and pocketed his steel.

Their conversations had been like this lately; short and to the point. In truth, they never really had deep conversions before. However, tonight Jace seemed to want to talk.

"So what's new with you?" He asked as they started walking.

Alec shrugged, "Oh, you know, I've started training to take over my father's position." Robert Lightwood decided it was time that Alec learned how to run the institute. He knew that there would come a time that he and Maryse would want to retire in Idris, and they needed at least one of their children to take over for them. Isabelle had shown no interest, so that left Alec.

Jace nodded, "Bet that's a joyride," the was only the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Your dad can be a stickler for tiny details. I can only imagine how much information he is unloading on you."

Alec laughed, "Yeah, seriously. I had a whole notebook filled with how to run meetings alone." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've barely gotten to see Nathan this past week, and next week he'll be in Idris visiting his grandparents."

Jace nodded. "I like Nathan. He's a good fighter, a good man, and you seem very happy with him."

Alec smiled, "I am happy." Alec paused before asking what he really wanted to know. "So, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Jace answered simply.

Alec arched an eyebrow at his friend. "Fine?"

Jace took a moment before answering. "I'm as fine as I can be," he finally said. "I know you have been worried," he continued, "but I think I can safely say that you have nothing to worry about."

Alec could tell that Jace was trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "That's a big jump from where you were at four weeks ago."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Clary is not coming back to me. I fucked up and she is with Magnus now. Besides, if what Caterina says is true, I'm pretty much marked to be the mate of a Succubus."

Alec was hesitant to ask, but went ahead and did. "Have you talked to Anna?"

"Only briefly. She called last week to see if we could meet up. I told her no, not now. Maybe after a little while, when I stop feeling so much when I am around her."

"What do you mean you feel so much?"

Jace didn't answer right away. He continued to look straight ahead. Alec started to think that he may not answer at all. Then Jace spoke, his voice was practically a whisper. "Well for one, I hate her for tearing me and Clary apart. If she had never moved to New York none of this would have happened." He paused again. Alec was sure he was collecting his thoughts. "I feel guilty for hating her, because I know it's not completely her fault. Actually, it's hardly her fault at all. She didn't choose to be what she is," His voice steadily grew louder. "Shit she didn't even know what she was. That much I could tell just by looking at her reaction when Caterina told us."

Alec nodded in agreement. It there was one thing he knew to be true, it was that Anna knew nothing about what she was. She, like Jace had grown thinner and pale. Part of Alec was worried that she was in a similar depression as Jace was.

Jace continued, he was almost shouting at this point. "Then there is the part of me that still feels an attraction for her. Of course that is when my rage sets in, because I know that is how everything got fucked up in the first place."

Jace stopped walking and Alec followed his lead. He turned to face Jace, and saw the distraught look that masked his face. It was odd hearing Jace express his emotions so freely. Four years ago everyone would have sworn the only emotions Jace knew were arrogance, confidence, and self-righteousness; Alec knew better. He had always guarded his emotions so that no one would ever presume him to be weak.

Alec had admired Jace for this talent. He knew that there were times when he showed too much emotion. He'd been able to train himself not to when he was in the field, but there were still times that he knew his face was gave away the very emotion he was trying to hide.

"What are you feeling now?" Alec asked, hoping that Jace would continue to be open with him.

He shook his head. "Honestly, I cannot discern between the different emotions right now. It's all one big blur of feeling. I really hate it. I don't feel like myself. I miss being able to just brush everything off and not care." He turned and punched the brick wall to the left of him. "It pisses me off that I ruined my life, but what pisses me off more, is part of me doesn't even care!" He looked down at his now bleeding hand. "How the fuck did this happen?" He asked desperately. "Why the fuck did it happen?"

Alec couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped towards the man he considered a brother. "Look, shit happens. Do we always like the products of our bad decision, no, but we must live with them and make the best out of our situations." He placed his hands on Jace's shoulders, "You are stronger than all of this and I know you can get through it. You are not alone in this, and you never will be. Not as long as I am alive."

Jace smile slightly. Alec could tell it was forced, but he would take what he could get. He threw his arm over Jace's shoulder, "Come, let's go look for some trouble." This time Jace smiled for real.


	30. After a Hard Patrol

**AN: Hey everyone. You don't know how sorry I am to make you wait so long. I have been trying but life has been kicking my ass. I apologize for any futue lulls in my posting. I promise that I am not abandoning the story I just have so much school and work that I sometimes don't get to write as much as I want.**  
**For this chapter I must thank Viva my Vida who was kind enough to beta for me. She is amazing and gave me the push I needed to finish this chapter.**

**WARNING! For those of you who hate my Clary/Magnus pairing, this chapter features serious lemons with them.**  
**I hope you all can forgive my delay and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review.**

* * *

Clary needed a shower. She had had a rather messy patrol earlier and needed to wash the day away. A fight with a nest of ravener demons had gone askew, and she ended up having to make a quick getaway via a garbage truck. It was by far the nastiest thing she had ever experienced–including being covered in demon blood.

She had reported the location back to the institute, hoping that they could gather a team to take out the nest tomorrow. For now she just wanted to get the smell of New York's trash off her skin.

She walked into the apartment and found Magnus on the couch watching the news. When she saw that he was about to get up she put her hands out in front of her. "No, don't come near me. I smell like a sewer and would like to have a shower before you come within 5 feet of me."

Magnus laughed and settled back onto the couch. "Well, you better hurry. I have very little patience, and I'd like to get my hands on you as soon as I can." He gave her a playful wink and then turned his attention back to the TV.

Once she was in the bathroom she stripped her clothes off and shoved them in laundry hamper. She would have to remember to wash those as soon as possible. The last thing she needed was for them to fester and smell worse than she currently did.

She climbed into the shower and let the water wash over her. The warm water soothed her sore muscles. While she was able to heal quicker than mundanes, she still felt the aftermath of a good fight on her body.

It took three rounds of vanilla body wash to finally get the rancid smell off her skin. She washed again–one more time just to be sure–knowing that Magnus enjoyed the smell of her body wash.

When she got out of the shower, she used one towel to get the majority of the water out of her hair, and then used another to wrap around her body. She ran a comb through her hair while it was damp and then left the bathroom.

Magnus was sipping his tea and watching the nightly news. He didn't care for the news much, but it was a great way to keep track of any suspicious happenings. Often a rogue warlock would cause a disturbance and the aftermath would end up on the news. Unexplained fires or explosions were typically the case.

As the High Warlock of Brooklyn, it was Magnus' job to keep all warlocks there to the Accords made with the Clave. While he didn't really care for rules, he did enjoy a level of order. He didn't really like the idea of his life being inconvenienced because some low-level warlock decided to act stupidly.

The evening weather came on the screen and Magnus took this opportunity to get some more tea. As he walked to the kitchen, Clary came out of what they now considered her bathroom. She was wearing just a towel. She had gotten into the habit of doing this now that the two of them were 'official'.

Magnus felt himself become aroused as she made her way to the kitchen. With quick movements, Magnus grabbed Clary by the waist and lifted her onto the counter. He ran his lips from her shoulder and up her neck, stopping just below her ear. "You know, every time I see you in this particular outfit, I imagine ripping it off of you," his voice was practically a growl. He felt the shiver that ran through her body.

"Is that so?" She asked her own voice heavy with desire.

Magnus started placing kisses across her jaw to her lips. As he kissed her, his hands traveled up her thighs. He moved one to cup her face and the other on her lower back pulling her closer to him.

As they continued, Clary's towel began to loosen and slipped down exposing her breasts.

Instinctively, Clary tried to cover herself up.

Magnus moved her arms from in front of her and, with a sly grin, leaned down to take a pink bud in his mouth. He rolled his tongue and bit gently, extracting soft moans from Clary. Each time he nipped, she arched into him more.

After a little while, he switched his attention to the neglected breast.

Clary threw her head back as she raked her fingers through his hair. If it were anyone else he would have cast a disfigurement spell on them; but the feeling of Clary fingers tugging at his hair only turned him on further.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the counter. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he walked them both to the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed, pulling her towel the rest of the way off her as he did.

He took a moment to admire her body. What she lacked in height, she greatly made up for in curves. No, she didn't have the largest breasts Magnus had ever seen, but he liked that. He had never been one to care about body shape or size. He'd always been more interested in a person's mind. He felt people put too much stock into what they looked like and not enough in what they were actually like.

Clary sat up and began to unbutton his shirt. Magnus smiled as she made progress and leaned over to taste her lips once more.

Once his shirt was off, Clary's hands made their way to his pants. After a bit of maneuvering, Magnus' pants and underwear joined his shirt on the floor. This was the first time they had each bared all to the other. Magnus could see a hint of blush color her skin.

Magnus watched Clary's eyes travel across his body. He leaned forward, forcing Clary to lie back down. Starting at her neck, he kissed her soft skin and began to move downward. Her breathing began to pick up as he went lower.

He pushed open her legs and admired the small patch of red curls he was met with. He leaned forward without warning and covered her core with his mouth. Her body jerked at the contact causing Magnus to grab her hips and hold her still.

"Mm, M-Magnus," Clary moaned as her back arched and her hips fought his hold. "Oh god!" She shouted when he licked her most sensitive spot.

"You like that don't you?" He asked slyly and followed up by dragging his tongue along the entire length of her slit.

"Magnus, please," Clary moaned.

"Please what?" He asked as he came up for air. When she didn't say anything he continued, "If you don't tell me what you want, I'm going to keep on with what I'm doing.

"I-I want you in me," she moaned pleadingly, "Now."

Her pleading words sent him over the edge. He positioned himself between her legs and pushed into her.

The feeling of Magnus filling her up was indescribable. Her senses went into overdrive. She arched her back, pressing her body closer to his.

He was moving slowly, which she appreciated. It had been a while. She knew that Magnus was much more experienced than her, so she loved that he was taking into consideration that she may not want to go fast and hard right away.

She tried her best to stifle her moans, but it was no use. The more Magnus moved in her the greater her need to cry out in pleasure became. Every time she shouted his name a guttural moan would escape his own lips.

"Clary, I don't know how much longer I can hold back. This feels so good."

His words shot a jolt of excitement through her. She looked up at him.

As he picked up speed, she felt a pressure building in her. She knew she was about to come. Her orgasm had never hit her this quickly before. "Mmm…oh god!" Her orgasm washed over like an intense wave. She thought Magnus would stop since she had come, instead, he picked up speed.

She felt another bout of pleasure building up from her core. After a few more moments of Magnus' merciless pounding, Clary came again, this one stronger than the first. Her legs started to shake as Magnus continued. She had never felt back to back orgasms before; at least not of such intensity. As soon as her second orgasm finished, Magnus pushed inside of her and stayed there. She felt his hips jerk against hers and then he collapsed next to her.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "That was amazing," he whispered breathily in her ear. "We need to make this a habit."

Clary smiled into his chest, "Maybe we will," she replied, her voice was thick with lust and drowsiness.

Still completely bare, Magnus covered the two of them with some blankets and settled back into the bed. After a few moments Clary heard Magnus' breathing even out. She let herself be consumed by his warmth and found herself, too, slowly drifting into a slumber.


	31. A Meeting in the Park

**AN: I know I know I know. It is absolutely unacceptable that I have had you all waiting so long. I had hoped to have a chapter sooner, but my muse evaded me once again. I actually read a study that our diets can affect our creative minds. I know it sound weird, but I thinks there is some legitimacy there. So I have decided that for the sake of my love of writing, I am going to change up how I eat. It'll be a fun little experiment.**

**I also realized that I had no timeline for this story. I went back and created a timeline that starts at the wedding up until this chapter. It's not 100% exact, but it'll give you a better idea of the timeline of events. I will do my best to keep up with the dates better from this point on. **

**May 7, 2011  
**Wedding

**May 16, 2011  
**Jocelyn and Clary talk  
Clary goes to get clothes  
Confrontation with Jace  
Clary catches Jace kissing Anna

**June 1, 2011  
**Magnus starts to realize his feelings for Clary  
Clary catches Jace having sex with Anna  
Simon proposes  
Anna, Jace, and Alec find out Anna has Succubus blood

**June 24, 2011  
**Clary meets with Izzy and finds out she's engaged  
Emergency meeting at the Institute  
Jace see Magnus and Clary kissing

**July 10, 2011  
**Jace kisses Clary  
Alec and Magnus make amends

**July, 16, 2011  
**Magnus comes home  
Everyone catches Clary and Magnus kissing  
Clary and Magnus become official

**August 9, 2011  
**Alec and Jace talk  
Clary and Magnus have sex

**As always, please let me know what you think. **

* * *

**September 3, 2011**

The air was growing colder in New York, but the sun was still shining enough to keep Jace warm.

More time had passed since his and Clary's wedding day, and things in his head had finally began to calm down. While he was far from being over her, he understood that she was over him. He was fine with that. At least that's what he told anyone who asked how he was doing.

In truth, he still couldn't fully accept that she was with Magnus. It infuriated him when he saw them together. He wanted her to be with _him_. No matter how long it took, no matter what he had to do, he would find a way to win her back.

In the meantime he busied himself with various tasks. He would often take extra patrol routes, spend longer in the training room, or volunteer for the institute's various missions.

Today he found himself on a different type of mission, at the park. He was due to meet up with Anna. It had been a few months since they had last seen each other.

He had conceded that it was time for them to meet up after a rather unpleasant run in with her father.

It had been towards the end of a meeting when the older shadowhunter had approached him. He was a menacing man. Standing half a head taller than Jace the man seemed like a giant. His hair was dark, but had a peppering of gray throughout it, and, like his daughter, he had dark blue eyes that, at the moment, were filled with intensity.

"Jace Haronedale," the man spat his name at him; he looked like he was ready to kill.

Jace recognized him as Anna's father, Christopher Hawthorne. "Mr. Hawthorne, how can I help you?" He asked as he extended a hand, which was ignored. Jace's charm, which usually brought out the best in people, did nothing to cool the temper that was radiating off the man in front of him.

"You could answer my daughter's calls for one," he said through gritted teeth.

Jace found himself at a loss. He wasn't trying to ignore Anna or anything; he just wasn't ready to talk. He was sure that she would understand, given the circumstances after all.

Before Jace could formulate a reply, Mr. Hawthorne continued, "I greatly suggest you make time in your schedule to see Anna. I'm not a fan of you, and I would rather you never be within a 10 mile radius from her, but she says she needs to speak to you. So do it."

Before Jace could ask any questions, Mr. Hawthorne turned and stomped away.

After giving it some thought, Jace decided that it would be best to see what was going on. A series of texts later the two of them had arranged a date and time to meet; today at 3:30 pm.

As he sat on the bench, he let his mind wander a bit. He started to think about the last few months. He hadn't seen much of Anna lately. She had been to the emergency meeting back in June; the one the institute had regarding the attacks on the Cornwall, Dublin, and London institutes. But as he thought of it now, he couldn't remember seeing her since.

Jace glanced at the time on his phone; 3:40 pm. She was late. But as he looked up from his phone he spotted Anna walked across the grass.

She was wearing a knee-length, blue dress with a white sweater over it and her hair was wrapped in a messy bun. Jace had to fight the thoughts of how simplistically beautiful she looked at this moment. He didn't like having those thoughts; not about the girl he ruined his life with.

When she reached him she took a seat on the bench next to him; her eyes remained glued to the ground.

"Hi," He said after a moment.

"Hi," She replied quietly. Still no eye contact.

He thought he would begin to ask her questions, but remembered that it was probably better to let her come to it on her own. If there was one thing he had learned from Izzy and Clary was that you shouldn't push women to talk. They will talk when they are ready.

After a rather long stretch of silence, she lifted her gaze to meet his. He could see that she had dark circles under her eyes, and it looked like she had been crying for days. "I'm pregnant," she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Jace asked, not sure of what else to say. He half-hoped that he had misheard her; but he knew he hadn't.

"I said,"

"I heard what you said," he cut her off. "Why are you sharing this info with me? Surely you don't think it's mine."

She stood from the bench and crossed her arms in front of her. "Of course it's yours. Who else's would it be?"

Jace stood to meet her gaze. "We were only together _once_, and… I-I didn't even finish."

She dropped her arms and with a defeated look. "Look Jace, I haven't been with anyone else. You can choose to believe me or not, but it's the truth."

Jace shook his head, reluctant to believe what she was saying. "You're lying," he said simply.

"What do I have to gain for lying?" Anna asked, looking straight into his eyes. "I mean, I knew you wouldn't believe me. I knew you would react this way. Why would I want to lie about a guy, _you_, being the father of my child?"

"I don't know. Maybe you're trying to trap me. Maybe you think that this child will make me want to be with you."

She shrugged, "Sure, at one point I thought it would be great to be with a guy like you. I thought you were cute, strong, and at times very caring. But you have blamed all your actions on me. You could be a man and take responsibility."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Jace's mind couldn't keep up with the number of thoughts that were racing through it. He dropped back on the bench and rested his face in his hands. He knew she wasn't lying; no matter how much he wished she was.

He let out a long sigh before speaking again. "Who knows about it?"

She sat back down and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "My parents. My brother is suspicious about something, but I think he thinks I'm a lesbian."

"Have you thought about…?"

He saw in her eyes that she knew what he was asking about. "No," she replied simply.

"Are you going to keep it? I mean, are you going to raise it?"

She sighed, "I don't know. I haven't thought everything through. Look, I don't expect you to want anything to do with me or this child. I just wanted to let you know of its existence.

She stood from the bench and walked away.

Jace wanted to say something. He felt like such a schmuck.

"Anna!" He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "Look it's not that I don't believe you, it's just…I…I don't know what to do anymore. My life has just been such shit for the last few months." He raked his hands through his hair. "And you're right, it's my fault. I know it seems like all the blame has fallen on you, but I know that I am the one to blame."

"Jace, look, don't think that I'm 100% innocent in all of this. I didn't exactly push you off me." Her gaze dropped to the ground once more. "If you _do_ decide that you want it be a part of this baby's life, I won't say no." With that she slipped out of Jace's grasp and left the park.

Jace let his hand fall to his side as he watched Anna walk away. His mind was reeling, and none of his thoughts made sense. All he knew was in about 7 months or so, a child would be born with half his DNA.


End file.
